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Category: Formula 1
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It is one of the worst qualifying sessions: Hamilton
DRIVERS
1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Stoffel Vandoorne)
Q: Valtteri, it was looking so good after Q2, what happened in Q3? Tell us about qualifying?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, it’s been looking pretty good all weekend, you know. I felt the pace being really good and also Q1 and Q2 was nice and smooth but Q3, to be honest I don’t know. I found some gains but obviously my rivals found some more. I think here is pretty sensitive with the tyres, getting them right. The first in Q3 my tyres were too cold. Second run, I don’t know, I just couldn’t go any quicker. Some question marks but I think actually it’s a pretty good place to start third here and I think I’m on the right tyre as well.
Q: Exactly. Starting from third, it’s a long way up to Turn 1. What do you think about the race tomorrow?
VB: Yeah, I remember once I started third here and I know what happened then, so for sure I will try to do the same and I really think I will have an advantage with the medium tyre in the first stint, so still all to play for.
Q: Max congratulations, P2 on the grid. What a fantastic recovery from yesterday?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, we were struggling a bit to find the right balance with the car on this track, it’s quite slippery round here. Even this morning I was not entirely happy and through qualifying we were really working on trying to nail the balance and in the Q3, the final run especially, it was not bad. So to be second on the grid, I didn’t expect, so very, very pleased with that.
Q: And it’s a good position for tomorrow as well. Second is not a bad position here as with the draft to Turn 1 maybe there is an opportunity?
MV: Yeah, absolutely. If we can have a decent start then the tow effect is very big around here so if I can get a good draft who knows what is going to happen into Turn 2. It’s going to be interesting anyway with the tyres as well tomorrow.
Q: Lewis, congratulations, what an awesome drive. I mean, challenging qualifying for you; you had that red flag in Q2 which put you a little on the back foot, but what an amazing drive in Q3.
Lewis HAMILTON: Well, firstly, I have to say a big, big hi to all the fans that are here. I’ve missed the fans so much through the year. I can’t tell you how great it is to see people. I hope everyone has their mask on and staying safe. This morning when I left the hotel I had a couple of fans there with their Black Lives Matter masks on and I’m just so humbled by everyone’s support and how everyone has worked this year. So it’s really great to see everybody. The session was… oh, it was one of the worst qualifying sessions; it was horrible. Heart in your mouth the whole way. The first problem, I think I got the time taken away. It’s the first time I’ve gone wide there the whole weekend. I wanted to stay out and do another lap and get a banker, but they said come in and get new tyres and then the red flag came out. It was a real risk once we got out on that next tyre at the end. Ultimately, I’m starting on the soft tyre, which is not good. It’s nice being on pole but here is probably the worst place to be on pole, with the draggier cars we have this year. So, undoubtedly I’m most likely to get dragged past tomorrow and both the cars I’m racing against, they are both on the medium tomorrow, so definitely it’s going to make it hard to win the race tomorrow. But nonetheless I’m going to stay positive and try to figure out how I can navigate my way through, get a good start maybe, and we’ll see.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, many congratulations, that was an eventful session for but can we just start by talking about Q3? The car just got faster and faster – two great laps.
LH: Yeah. You want to start with Q3 first? It’s a lot to skip over and just to go straight to Q3, but it was one of the hardest qualifying sessions I can remember having being that everything was just so rushed and there was panic and there was just all sorts going on. And then obviously timing once you’re out there, when we went out for the second run, sorry in Q2, and then just having to calm myself down and find my centre, you know, calm my heart down and wanting to deliver in Q3. I was adamant. I had no choice. I had to deliver on those two laps. Valtteri had been doing great all weekend. Nothing new in that respect but I knew I needed to have a perfect lap, particularly on the first run to get the pole. Obviously pole position is not great here; it never has been. Still, going for pole is what we do. The first lap was really great. I thought it was going to be very difficult to improve on it, but I think I managed to just improve just a tiny bit I think on the second lap. I’m super grateful to everyone for just about keeping their cool. And it could be a lot, lot worse. I could be out of the top 10, so I’m really grateful I go to compete.
Q: Just talk us through those final moments of Q2 now, when you crossed the line with one and a half seconds to spare?
LH: It was horrible! I wanted to start on the medium. I didn’t want to go to… I mean the whole session was just not great. I went wide out of Turn 18, which was my fault, but the first time I had done that all weekend. Then I was like, “let me stay out and just get a banker lap in”, and they asked me to come in, which ultimately… I mean, hindsight is always a good thing to have, but I don’t know if it was the right call. But then we went back out and then the red flag came out and we all waited at the end of the pit lane. And I nearly spun at Turn 1 because the tyre temperatures were so low. I think I overtook one car going into the second to last corner or two cars I think it was, but then I got blocked by the Renault, and I was dead slow in the middle of the last corner about to start the lap and I could just hear Bonno saying “Go, go, go, go, go, go!” so I was just gunning to try to get across the line, so very, very fortunate. I don’t think that was just luck, I think it was just the right timing for us.
Q: Just a quick word on strategy for tomorrow. You’re going to be on the front row on the Soft tyre alongside Max who’s going to be on the Medium.
LH: As I was saying before, it’s not a good place to start at all and I think this year you’re seeing our cars are more draggy and there’s more tow this year than we’ve seen in other years, so… yeah. I generally expect one of these two to come flying by at some point. So, I think I’m just going to focus on my race and just try to run the fastest race I can. Obviously I’m on the worst tyre to start on the race but generally it’s a good tyre to do an actual start but it doesn’t have… it has the biggest degradation, ten times more than any other tyre, I think it is. So that’s going to be a struggle. I don’t know if that puts me onto a two-stop, I don’t know, unlikely because the pit lane is too slow, so I’m just going to have to nurse those tyres as far as I can. These guys, if they get by, they’re going to be pulling away so going to sit down tonight to try to figure out if there’s a different kind of race I can do tomorrow to keep my position.
Q: Max, coming to you, your 13th front row start and your first here in Sochi, with that fabulous final lap of Q3. Was that one of your best?
MV: Yeah, I think so. It felt really good. Trying to find the right balance because I was actually struggling quite a bit throughout qualifying to really nail all the entry speeds, because I was oversteering a lot. So, step-by-step I think we were doing a better job. Q3, run one was a bit better but the second run, made a few changes and that just gave me a little bit more grip and, on this track, you really need a lot of entry grip, so yeah, that was very satisfying. It was a really nice lap to drive. It’s not pole position but for me, to be on the first row, I definitely didn’t expect that going into qualifying.
Q: Like Lewis, you had a drama-filled end to Q2 but for different reasons because you decided to abort your final lap and you just made it through to Q3.
MV: Yeah, I mean, I wanted to start on the Medium but the field, of course, is very, very close on lap time so it was very hard. I did my very best to do the best lap I could on that tyre but it was not easy because I was already struggling for grip and then going onto a harder compound was even more difficult to find that grip. Then going into that last corner, after the red flag, when I was back onto the Soft tyres, they told me ‘abort, abort’, so I stopped. But of course the finish line is quite short after the last corner. Of course happy that we did it, and we just made it through.
Q: Lewis has just told us that he’s got a difficult race ahead of him tomorrow. Are you feeling confident starting on the Medium tyre?
MV: Yeah, I think for us it’s the best way going into the race. Of course I’m starting a bit on the dirty side so I’m not sure how much that’s going to affect it but yeah, overall I think the Mercedes guys are a bit faster in race pace so I’ll try my very best to stay with them and see what happens but first of all I think we… well, I would like to have a good start, and by start I mean once I go full throttle to have full power, that would be nice and then not get taken out. After two retirements I think it’s good to score some points again.
Q: Valtteri, coming to you, how tricky is it to manage a session like that when there’s so much going on?
VB: Well, for me there was not so much going on. It was actually pretty straightforward from my side, so I think I was quite fortunate that all the happenings didn’t really affect me. Q1, Q2 from my side was pretty good. Car was feeling good and the pace seemed to be there – unlike in Q3.
Q: Well, talk us through Q3, particularly that final lap.
VB: Q3 was a tricky one, so in the first run I didn’t feel my tyres were ready, so out of the last corner, starting the lap, I had a big snap so lost a couple of tenths on the run down to Turn 2. Turn 2, massive oversteer and tyres only came in towards the end of the lap. So yeah, I was just waiting for the second run then and, you know, there was no mistakes as such, Turn 2, maybe there was a tiny lock-up, went a bit wide but, to be honest, I don’t really get it why I couldn’t match Lewis’ times in Q3. Just didn’t feel I was gaining much grip from previous sessions. I think even Q2 felt better, so a few question marks from me about what really happened – or maybe I was just playing games and wanted to start third.
VIDEO CONFERENCE
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for Lewis, we just got a report from the stewards that you failed to rejoin the track in the right way, as it is said in the race director notes. Can you just elaborate a bit on that situation and do you expect some problems because of that?
LH: Where’s that?
Q: Turn 2. Four minutes after the start of the qualifying session.
LH: I don’t know. I went through the barriers and through the bollards… in Q2 you mean?
Q: It says at four minutes past three, so Q1 I guess. Failure to follow the race director’s instructions in Turn 2 at three o’clock and four minutes. Breach of article 12.1.1.
LH: I don’t know. I have no idea what that is. There’s always going to be something, isn’t there. I don’t remember ever… I don’t think… I had a lap time deleted.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Lewis, I just wondered, you mentioned this being a horrible session for you, a little bit of panic at one stage. What was the communication like between you and the team? Was it always calm or were things a little bit – not out of control – but just a little bit under pressure? And was there any discussion about you still taking the mediums for that last run in Q2 after the red flag or was there something specific that prohibited that?
LH: Our conversations are usually relatively calm, I would say. We had a debate. I wanted to stay out in Q1, as I mentioned. I wanted to stay out and just do another lap just to get a banker and then we had a big discussion, back and forth, back and forth. I said ‘I want to stay out, I want to stay out, I want to stay out’ and they called me in so I listened to them. And then obviously we went back out and we got stuck with the red flag. Was that Q1 or Q2? I can’t remember. It was Q2, yeah, Q2. And then in Q1 I had a flat spot so I couldn’t go back out again so that was a bit of a mess so that was a bit less practice. And then at the end of Q2 I wanted to go back out on the medium, because of course I don’t want to start on the soft tyre but we had to wait at the end of the pit lane for two minutes and we had… the tyre temperatures would have dropped down massively, already just on that brand new tyre, on the soft, I had a big slide into turn one so it definitely wasn’t great and I did plead to have the medium tyre but they weren’t having it. So naturally I think we will have a discussion at the end, whether it was right or wrong, doesn’t matter now. It’s happened so we will just make do with what we have.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Lewis, you talked about having to calm yourself down and centre yourself for those runs late on. How did you stop yourself from letting that session spiral, because with the deleted the lap times and then the red flag, the moment when you said you nearly spun at turn two, when you went back out for that run at the end of Q2, it must have been all kinds of stress and pressure, so how did you stop it from running away with you?
LH: If I told you I’d have to kill you so I mean… No, I think everyone, we’re all under immense pressure and I would say probably experience helps massively in order to know how to regain your focus. Because just one millimetre out and you’re way off, you’re making mistakes or you’re locking up. It is a real, real challenge and I don’t always get it right but I was really grateful today I was able to… and I think in general that’s probably been a real strength. I don’t know if it’s always been it but particularly this year obviously qualifying, Q3, I’ve managed to really be able to centre myself and deliver really impactful laps that count when it really matters, so I’m grateful for that. Maybe one day I will tell you how I do it in a book.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) To all three drivers, just about the track conditions and the amount of grip out there. How did you find it throughout Saturday? Obviously things looked a bit colder coming into qualifying. There were quite a few off-track moments for various drivers up and down the grid, so how did you find those laps?
VB: Yeah, here, quite usually at the start of the weekend it’s pretty low grip and the wind changed for today quite a bit so it’s nothing new really. It’s quite a peaky tarmac in terms of how it provides the grip so if you lose the rear end or if you have a locked up it’s pretty penalising so the peak of the grip is quite a small window. So yeah, that’s why we see quite a lot of mistakes but it’s one of these type of tracks and not really an issue but different.
LH: I don’t know if the fans that are watching… I don’t know if the commentators talk about it much but the surfaces that we have on these tracks are quite a lot different. Some are the same, you have some that are very, very smooth, some very grainy and some that wear the tyres more, some that wear them less, some that overheat the tyres, some that work the tyres. There’s a real science behind it, naturally, but here, today, the grip level is quite poor here I would say. It’s quite a smooth surface but today into qualifying the wind direction switched 180 degrees at least and up quite a lot, 20 miles an hour or 20 kilometres an hour winds, so that would have meant that you had a tailwind into turn one which we didn’t have previously. It meant that we had a tailwind into turn five and a few other different corners so what we had practised in P3 and one and two was different once we got to qualifying, which takes a bit of adjusting. So it definitely wasn’t easy. But everyone’s in the same boat.
MV: Yeah, this track… it’s also because I guess not many times it’s been run on, like other tracks we go to there’s a lot of activity so the track just gets used a lot more and around here with all those 90 degree corners and then I think the surface they went for, it’s just… yeah, a tricky combination but it’s the same for everyone at the end of the day, so you just have to deal with it but yeah, with these cars as well, they are so big and so wide that once you lose it, it’s really hard to really catch it if it goes, because of the wide tyres. It’s a bit more exciting, I guess, for the viewers, this year’s spin and stuff but, yeah, it’s an interesting track to set up the car for as well, and then finding the right balance from entry to mid-corner, to go fast.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Max, the turn around from Friday to today is pretty extraordinary in terms of lap times and competitiveness. Did it surprise you at all, and do you think you’ve put yourself in a similar position to the second Silverstone race where circumstances are aligning and you can challenge the Mercedes?
MV: I think first of all Friday was a little bit messy because were trying downforce levels and we never really had a perfect lap, let’s say like that. There were always a few moments and stuff so I knew that we were going to be, let’s say, more competitive than where we were but it’s a surprise to be on the front row, that’s for sure, but I honestly don’t expect it to be like Silverstone. I think we were a little bit more competitive in the long runs there and also the compounds, I don’t think it’s as big an issue as what it was there, so I don’t expect the same to happen but I’m just happy with the improvements we did make overnight. I think even at the beginning of qualifying it looked quite tricky to be P3 but it was more because I think we just didn’t really find a good balance an issue because of the wind change, like Lewis said. It seemed like it was very difficult for me to find rear grip in some corners but in Q3 we made a few changes and it seemed to work a bit better so yeah, I was pleased for that.
End
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Hamilton takes pole as Verstappen splits the Mercedes
Sochi, 26 Sept 2020: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the Russian Grand Prix after almost missing out on the final top-10 shoot out at Sochi following a late red flag period brought about by a crash for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen put in an excellent final flying lap to split the Mercedes cars to claim his 13th career front-row start ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
Mercedes led the way in Q1 with Bottas setting a time of 1:32.656 with his first run to lead the way. Team-mate Hamilton made a mistake on his opening run and had his time deleted, but the championship leader made no mistake with a second flying lap on the same tyre and he took P2 ahead of AlphaTauri’s home hero Daniil Kvyat and Renault’s Esteban Ocon.
Verstappen ended the opening segment in fifth place with a time of 1:33.630, while team-mate mate Alex Albon progressed in P11 thanks to a final run time of 1:33.919.
However, eliminated at the end of the 18-minute segment were Haas’ Romain Grosjean, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räkkönen who made a mistake at Turn 2 on his final run and was forced to abandon his final flying lap.
When the green lights signalled the start of Q2 both Mercedes drivers went out on medium compound Pirelli tyres. Hamilton set an impressive benchmark of 1:32.085 but the Briton had his time deleted for going over the track limits at Turn 18 and that allowed Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo to take an early top spot in the session with a time of 1:32.218.
The final runs saw both Bulls head out on soft tyres but while Bottas was able to get across the line and rise to P2 behind Ricciardo, there was no opportunity for others to improve.
Sebastian Vettel lost control as he clipped a sausage kerb on the apex of Turn 4 and the Ferrari driver spun sideways into the barriers. The red flags were immediately shown.
With just two minutes and 15 seconds left on the clock, Albon was left in P11 and in danger of elimination, while Hamilton was down in P15 following his lap time deletion.
After returning to the garage the Bulls were the first to be released into the pit lane in anticipation of the re-start.
Albon was first on track, though he swapped places with Verstappen as they went towards Turn 2. And with clean air ahead the Bulls had the best of the final moments of the session.
Verstappen was on course to improve but with the pace of those around being monitored the team chose to tell him to slow as he exited the final corner and he went slowly across the line to ensure progress in P9 thanks to his run one time. He will therefore start on medium tyres. Behind him Albon put in a good lap of 1:33.919 to progress in P8.
Behind them Hamilton only just made it across the start-finish line before the chequered flag but once past the line he set a good time of 1:32.983 to make it to Q3 in fourth place.
Eliminated at the end of Q2, however, were 11th placed Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat, Racing Point’s Lance Stroll who didn’t make the session restart due to a technical issue, Williams’ George Russell and the unfortunate Vettel.
After the dramas of Q2, Hamilton forged a less complex path into Q3 by taking provisional pole with a lap of 1:31.391, al most eight tenths of a second ahead of Bottas. Verstappen took P3, although again the place looked far from secure as Daniel Ricciardo took fourth just 0.004s behind the Dutchman.
Verstappen cleverly gained a tow into Turn 1 from Bottas, who had just finished his final flyer, the impetus he needed and he crossed the line in 1:31.867 almost a tenth ahead of Bottas and on the front row. Verstappen will also go into the race with a tyre advantage as the red flag episode in Q2 forced Hamilton to qualify on the soft tyre.
With Bottas third, Pérez took fourth place for Racing Point ahead of Ricciardo, Sainz, Ocon and the eighth-place McLaren of Lando Norris. Pierre Gasly qualified ninth for AlphaTauri and the final top 10 place was taken by Red Bull’s Alex Albon.
2020 FIA Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.304 6 230.579
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:31.867 0.563 6 229.166
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:31.956 0.652 6 228.944
4 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 1:32.317 1.013 6 228.049
5 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:32.364 1.060 6 227.932
6 Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 1:32.550 1.246 6 227.474
7 Esteban Ocon Renault 1:32.624 1.320 6 227.293
8 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1:32.847 1.543 6 226.747
9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:33.000 1.696 6 226.374
10 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 1:33.008 1.704 6 226.35
11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.239 1.021 7 225.793
12 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 1:33.249 1.031 8 225.769
13 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1:33.364 1.146 5 225.491
14 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:33.583 1.365 3 224.963
15 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:33.609 1.391 5 224.901
16 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1:34.592 1.936 7 222.564
17 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:34.594 1.938 6 222.559
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:34.681 2.025 8 222.355
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:35.066 2.410 5 221.454
20 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:35.267 2.611 5 220.987 -
Alonso is keen on getting back behind the wheel: Cyril Abiteboul
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Andreas SEIDL (McLaren), Cyril ABITEBOUL (Renault), Simon ROBERTS (Williams)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Let’s start with just a quick resumé of FP1 if we could. Andreas, why don’t we start with you please. How was it down at McLaren?
Andreas SEIDL: I would say it was not the most straightforward session for us today. As you have seen, we have lost one car early with Carlos going into the barrier, which was upsetting our programme a bit and we couldn’t go out any more because we had to change the rear crash structure for Free Practice Two. On Lando’s side, with the red flags and the Virtual Safety Cars it was also not a straightforward session because we couldn’t have the clean programme that we were wishing for with trying some new components again. But it’s still early days and it’s simply important now to reset again and then see how we can progress in Free Practice Two.
Cyril ABITEBOUL: Fairly straightforward session for us, for a Friday morning. Lots of… a bit of test going on in the background to try to understand a bit better what everyone is seeing from the outside, which is also to a certain degree puzzling us from the inside, which is the discrepancies we seem to have in certain conditions. So we’ve conducted some aero tests to try to get on the bottom of these questions. The pace seems to be OK but the drivers are both complaining that a balance is difficult to find. Even though it’s looking a bit good on the timesheets we know that there was lots of yellow flags and red flag, so we are treating those positions very carefully.
Simon ROBERTS: Yes, so unfortunately a disrupted session for us as well. On George’s side we went through the programme. Everything was to plan, we were basically just trying to get the right set-up, starting the set-up work for tomorrow. No major dramas. As the guys have said there was a few red flags, yellow flags. George missed one turn but nothing major, so yeah, that all went as expected. Unfortunately for Nicholas, went off on Turn 10, one of those classic ‘punishment doesn’t fit the crime’, he had a little bit of understeer going in, just lost the back end and collected the wall. Car’s back in the garage, there’s quite a bit of damage, we’re assessing that now. Obviously we lost the rear wing and the bodywork down the side but we’re already into that. So, hopefully the guys will turn it around and see where we get to in FP2. If you want justice for the crime, you ought to get in touch with Rosemead attorneys for marijuana charges, who have the best solution for all criminal issues.
Q: Andreas, coming back to you, you’ve said already it was a disrupted session for McLaren but how do you rate your team’s chances here? Both cars were in the points last year – is this an opportunity to put pressure on Red Bull and bag some big points?
AS: Well, I don’t think that Red Bull is the team we are targeting this year. As I said, we had a good race here last year, we were quite competitive but I’m very careful at the moment predicting how the weekends go because we also thought in Mugello it’s a track that suits us. It’s particularly important to focus on ourselves again. It’s important to simply get through the testing programme on Friday, making sure that the upgrades we are bringing are working and hopefully we can carry them forward into the race weekend. We know that competition is strong; everyone is bringing upgrades and still improving their cars. Renault made big steps forward in the last couple of races. Racing Point brought an upgrade to Mugello that looked really, really strong, also Ferrari is a team we never underestimate. So, we have two good drivers, a good team and it’s going to be important to maximise the opportunities going forward – and that’s what we will try again, also this weekend.
Q: Cyril, can we talk about Fernando Alonso. He was in the factory recently. How did you find him? What feedback did he give you on the simulator?
CA: Not sure I want to comment on the simulator specifically because it’s not necessarily the main strength of the team and we are working hard to improve in that area. That’s typically an area where there has been a lack of investment in the last few years – but on a broader perspective first we saw a Fernando that’s happy to be back not yet in action but back in the team environment, in particular a team that he knows and where he obviously has good souvenirs – but souvenirs are not a reflection of what’s going to happen so we need also to be forward looking. I think, being on the Viry side – because I can’t travel in the UK myself – I was not in the UK but I can tell you that he was really impressed by all the changes in Viry, all the new people, the energy, the drive, the determination in Viry that there is in developing a new PU for what is now 2022. It was supposed to be ’21 but it’s shifting back a year. Obviously I’m biased when I say that but it’s something that is extremely important to us, so see Fernando and to see his pride and the excitement in his eyes. He’s also been a witness to all the changes in Enstone – but a nice building is not again a statement of what’s coming. So, we just need to work very hard to make sure he has a car that he wants and also that he deserves.
Q: When are we going to see him testing a car?
CA: One thing that I can say is that he’s definitely keen on getting back behind the steering wheel, so we’ll see that. We are building the programme. There is a couple of opportunities within, obviously, the restriction of the sporting regulation. Things like filming days that we’ve not done so far, there is a post-season test that I have already commented on – we’ll see where we get there. We also have a two-years old car programme that we can run pretty much anywhere and he will probably do a bit of that also. So, you’ll see him in action. I can’t say here where and when exactly yet.
Q: Simon, you’ve been in the job as acting team principal for a few weeks now. How are you finding things?
SR: It’s pretty busy, pretty hectic obviously. It’s a big step up, I’m very proud and honoured to be asked to do it but there’s a lot to do in the factory. We’re trying to make sure we keep the management team stable with the new owners, so that’s really important for them and the rest of the team. So, me stepping up makes us able to do that. We’re now working with the new owners pretty much every day, looking at what we need to do to improve. What the long-term programme is and how do we find some performance for the whole team over a long period of time. There’s no quick fix here. We’re in it for the long haul and so are Dorilton.
Q: What are their immediate goals? What have they said to you?
SR: They’re just trying to right now understand everything they can about the business. They’re super-smart and really nice and easy people to work with, so it’s great having them around. They just come and get involved in everything they can. They obviously were in Mugello, which was great for them and we’re just in that budget setting, looking at investment plans, trying to figure out effectively what’s the first thing to do. We don’t want to make mistakes but everything we do is focussed on improving our performance in the long term.
VIDEO CONFERENCE
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Cyril, in August, Pat Fry wrote an email to the FIA requesting clarity on the status of listed components, the definitions on intellectual property etcetera. Have you have replies and are these satisfactory?
CA: As you know Dieter, up until a certain point these communications with the FIA are confidential matters but we expect that at some point they will become public material because we believe that they are very important for any team to make sure they comply with the stance of the FIA on these things after obviously the precedent of this year and the controversy of this year. We have had a response from Nikolas. He is in the process of turning that into something more formal that can then become public.
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport.com) Cyril, you recently announced the rebranding of the team and the restructuring of the programme. As I understand, you also took over responsibility for promoting the Alpine brand in the process. The question is: are you going to remain team principal – or is your role going to change in any way with people in Enstone like Marcin Budkowski taking over more responsibility?
CA: The exact situation is that I have been asked by the CEO Luca de Meo to take as an extra mission the structuring of Alpine as a car company, as a brand but not just a brand inside of things but what’s the product strategy, what’s the business model within the context of Renault Group changing massively of organisation, and also strategy, given the overall situation. It’s a mission which I started, which I will have in hand in a couple of weeks and part of the deliverable of that mission will see obviously some proposals in terms of structure that I absolutely do not want to comment on here and now. What I can tell you is that I remain in the context of that mission until the end this year fully committed in my role as team principal.
Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Question for Simon. Obviously you referred to finding long-term performance and particularly with the limitations on next year anyway, it’s logical that 2022 is the next big step – so how much do you feel the team is capable of taking a step forward in 2022 and how much thought and decision making has there been on perhaps some of the bigger investments – facilities etcetera – that are needed in the long term beyond that to get the team to the level you want it to be at?
SR: We’re looking at all of it Edd. What we don’t want to do is give up on 2021. I think it’s really important to keep the team alive and active and competing – so we’re trying to create a short-term plan and, if we could, repeat the step that the team made this year, going from 2019 into 2020. If we can do something like that, then it puts us in a good position for next year. What we don’t want to do obviously is sacrifice efforts towards 2022 because there’s new rules, the new financial regulations will start to bite, so we don’t’ want to lose that opportunity. So, I don’t want to go into any specifics but we’re basically looking at all of it and prioritising across a long time frame.
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Simon, from the feedback you get from the new owners at Williams. I think your current title is acting team principal. Do you think you have a future with the team as team principal as well?
SR: It’s something we haven’t really focussed on, to be honest. The whole sale process happened much faster than any of us expected and then Claire made her decision, which was a shock to all of us. So, the most important thing was to retain continuity. So I’m really, really pleased to be asked to step-up, I really enjoy it and hopefully I can continue to do it for longer – but we haven’t even discussed it. It’s not the top of my list, and it’s not the top of theirs. There’s plenty of work to be done and we’re all focussed on that and focussed on moving the team forwards.
Q: (Adam Cooper – motorsport.com) Question for Cyril. Stefano Domenicali looks set to be the CEO of F1 next year. What are your thoughts on that appointment and are you pleased so see someone with so much experience in so many different areas coming into that role?
CA: It’s difficult to comment on something that it only a speculation for the time being. If it were to happen, Stefano obviously has plenty to offer in such a position. He’s got – I’m stating the obvious – a very good knowledge of the sport itself. He’s got a good knowledge of how the sport can support a manufacturer. Lamborghini obviously not being in Formula 1 but he also knows probably why they are not in Formula 1. So, I guess he has a different, interesting perspective to offer in relation to that. What we need, I guess, is a very strong management as always. Without being too pessimistic about the direction that things are taking, there is a number of topics on the agenda of anyone coming into this position – whether it’s Chase continuing in this position or someone new – because there are lots of topics, so we need someone very strong and someone committed, who knows the sport but also with a strong group of people around him and I hope that Chase stays also around because I think he has plenty to offer also in addition to a possible Stefano Domenicali – but again, it’s only speculation.
Andreas, can we get your thoughts please on this?
AS: As I have said today in the morning already to some of you guys, I think, first of all it’s important was Cyril says. Chase has been and is still the CEO of Formula 1 and I think it’s important to mention he has done a great job and is still doing a great job in order to plan the future, together with us, of Formula 1, which is looking great from our point of view with all the changes that are coming but if Chase would decide to step down, or decides he’s had enough of all of us, I think Stefano would be a great choice. For various reasons. First of all, purely down to all the different experiences he has made already in his working life. I think he has everything you need to have to run Formula 1. And then my personal experience also with Stefano, during my time at Porsche is simply that he’s a great personality, a great character and I benefitted a lot also, working on special projects with him, from his experiences so we would definitely welcome Stefano taking over this position.
Simon, your thoughts?
SR: I haven’t really got anything to add from what the guys said. It is speculation. I remember him from the RRA times and he’s a great guy, great character – but until something’s announced then we’ll work with the current management.
Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Andreas, I know you spoke about this, this morning, so this question is for Cyril and Simon, about reverse grids and the possibility of it being used as a sprint race format in lieu of qualifying next year. We know that sort of some teams are starting to change position and think a little bit more about it as F1 is revisiting the plan, I just wanted to know from Cyril and Simon from what your view is on it and where your teams currently stand?
CA: I still believe that reverse grid is a great opportunity for mixing things up and offering a show but I still believe it’s an artefact and we should have the ambition of offering exciting races without that artefact. We’ve had, again, fantastic races this year, we’ve had fantastic races also last year with lots of things happening without reverse grid. We just need the field to be more competitive. I think that should be the focal point. If you have 20 cars within half a second, or a second, that will offer you a great show in my opinion – providing you have the opportunity to overtake. We don’t’ want to turn Formula 1 into DTM. So, I think that we are near enough 2022 not to have to use that artefact at this point in time.
Q: Simon, if there were to be reverse grids?
SR: We’ve only just started looking at again. We had a look just over a year ago. Didn’t do much work on it from that. We’re just starting to model it now. It introduces some jeopardy but there are two side to that. As Cyril said, the pace of the cars currently, we’re not really sure how much difference it really makes on the feature races. It’s early days. Things have already shifted, as Cyril said. The pace of the cars is different. We don’t have the normal three at the top. We kind of reserve judgement and still want to study it in detail before we make any decisions on that.
Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Simon, will Williams run at the maximum allowed under the cost cap in 2021?
SR: It’s a good question, Edd. We probably won’t. We are so far into…. Sorry, in 2021? Yeah, our budget is based on getting towards the cost cap. This year it’s too late. We’ve only four months to go and we’re pretty much set on where we are headed but for next year we are looking at what we can do and we now have the finances behind us to do that. But it’s not a given. We will only spend money and invest where it makes sense.
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC) This is for all three. As you alluded to just now, there are new regulations coming in for 2022, which are intended to close up the field, and yet they are still pursuing this idea of trialling reverse grids. Is there a lack of confidence within the sport that the 2022 regulations are going to do what they’re intended to do?
AS: Well, I can only speak for ourselves, for McLaren. I don’t see that there is any lack of confidence. We strongly believe that everything that comes into place from ’22 onwards, the financial regulations with the budget cap, the technical regulations and the sporting regulations, will definitely improve the competition and in the end improve also the sport – the spectacle for the fans, which is great. Of course, we also need to be realistic as well, it will also take time until all this stuff is coming into place and until the budget cap is also, let’s say, washing out and having its full effect. But in the end then it’s simply down to us to make sure that we work hard and close this gap to the cars in front of us, but I’m very optimistic about the future.
CA: It’s really difficult, because, as you know, we have no real ability to develop the car at this point in time and we were probably a little bit late also. But anyway, we know the effect on the aerodynamic of our car, but again, we have no ability really to run in a tunnel or into CFD the effect of following another car, which is really the crucial point of the technical regulation, the aerodynamic regulations, which is probably the biggest change that Formula 1 has ever experienced. And when you have a change like this one there is always the possibility that someone finds a magic bullet, or someone finds a huge loophole or a small loophole with a big effect which could again stretch the field, at least for an initial period of time. I don’t think anyone has the ability to really give you a correct answer at this point in time.
SR: I agree. I think it’s too early to tell. We’re just focused on what we can do. It’s a huge step from where we are and as Cyril said we can’t work on the cars at all, for 2022, yet. We’re locked out of the tunnel and CFD and basically the intent is good, but how the intent plays out only time will tell. We can’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be as expected, subject to any loopholes or quirks. I think there has been a lot of work done and the guys that have created the regulations have been exploring that possibility of loopholes, so our expectation is that it should be a leveller playing field than we are used to today.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Another question for Cyril. Cyril, first of all, could you clarify that the 200 million anti-dilution fund will impact on your plans to possibly find a second team, possibly almost with a Haas-like relationship. Secondly, the other question is: will your team need be in a position where it needs to trigger that soft landing, US$6-million concession in the budget cap next year?
CA: So, on the first question, on the anti-dilution payment, yes, on the broader sense that’s something that I believe is important for the sport. You are making reference to a mechanism that’s been introduced in Concorde that is basically putting a minimum value on any entry, I guess it’s a collateral effect and clearly it’s going to make access to Formula 1 a bit more difficult fort any team above 10, which I think is right. It’s like the Premier League of motor sport, it’s like the NBA. There needs to be this type of franchise system and with budget cap and that mechanism we are getting there. I have been involved in actually three financial transactions involving Formula 1 teams and every single time, it’s no secret, that the value of the team was the value of the debt, and it’s not normal when you are talking abut a sport that is amongst the top three sports properties in the world. So clearly that is an important ingredient but I accept that it is probably going to limit our ability to find a partner team, but frankly we are not actively searching. We think it’s a good add now that we have a long-term plan and a long-term commitment into the sport, we are open to opportunity but it’s not like we are actively searching for opportunities simply because we have been involved in many customer arrangements and it’s still not that clear cut that it’s bringing you something that you really need in order to meet your sporting targets. On the second question on the six million, it’s even more technical. What I can easily say is that we are not going to have any need of this six million on the simple basis that we operate below the budget cap. We have no people in excess. We will not have, therefore, any redundancy to plan to hit the 2021 limit.
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport.com) Simon, what’s the reason why the new owners of the team have kept such a low profile in the public and haven’t shown up in public yet?
SR: So, Matthew Savage was in Mugello, he joined the team. He brought one of his other board members and one of his senior chief of staff. So, they were there. They weren’t doing interviews but that was their first foray into Formula 1 and I expect we will see them in the future. They are not hiding, so who knows. -
Valtteri Bottas tops timesheets in FP1
Sochi, 25 Sept 2020: Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas set the pace in the opening practice session for the 2020 FIA Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix, finishing almost half a second clear of Renault’s Daniel Riccirado at the end of a session that featured a number of incidents.
Bottas, who won in Sochi in 2017 and who has three other podium finishes to his name at the Black Sea circuit, used the re-banded soft tyre to claim top spot and the Finn set a time of 1:34.923 to eclipse Ricciardo who put in a good lap of 1:35.430 to edge Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen by a little under 1500ths of a second.
Mercedes led the way in the early phase of the session as Bottas went out on the C4 compound medium tyres and Hamilton chose the C4 hard tyre as the team sought to get a read on the durability of the softest end of Pirelli’s range of rubber. Hamilton topped the order first with a time of 1:37.313s before Bottas establisher a new benchmark, four tenths clear of his team-mate.
Around the half-hour mark Verstappen took over at the top with a medium-tyre lap of 1:36.751s.
Merrcedes, though, soon returned to the track on soft compound tyres with Bottas setting his session-best time. Hamilton, however, didn’t get a soft lap in as McLaren’s Carlos Sainz went off track and into the barriers.
Sainz lost control of his car on entry to Turn 7 and spun backwards into the barriers, breaking his rear wing. He was, however, able to limp back to the pits.
Within moments AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat also had a spin at Turn 15, though he avoided damage, and the Virtual Safety Car was deployed, ending Hamilton’s hot lap.
While Sainz’s crash resulted in a VSC, the red flags had to be shown just before the hour mark when Nicholas Latifi went off at Turn 10. The Canadian drivers also went backwards into the barrier but unlike Sainz he was unable to continue and the session was stopped to allow for recovery of his car.
Fourth place in the session went to Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez with teammate Lance Stroll fifth ahead of the second Renault of Esteban Ocon. Kvyat ended the session in seventh place, with the second Red Bull of Alex Albon in eighth place ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
2020 FIA Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:34.923 13 221.788
2 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:35.430 0.507 22 220.609
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:35.577 0.654 22 220.270
4 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 1:35.796 0.873 23 219.767
5 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1:35.965 1.042 21 219.379
6 Esteban Ocon Renault 1:36.061 1.138 23 219.160
7 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 1:36.230 1.307 22 218.775
8 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 1:36.254 1.331 24 218.721
9 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:36.323 1.400 23 218.564
10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:36.706 1.783 25 217.699
11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:36.896 1.973 23 217.272
12 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren/Renault 1:36.970 2.047 8 217.106
13 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1:37.110 2.187 28 216.793
14 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:37.201 2.278 17 216.590
15 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:37.230 2.307 23 216.525
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:37.430 2.507 22 216.081
17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:37.595 2.672 24 215.715
18 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1:37.649 2.726 24 215.596
19 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:37.716 2.793 18 215.448
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:37.784 2.861 11 215.299 -
Multiple crashes mark Ferrari’s 1000th race and a record 90th win for Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton won the first-ever Grand Prix held at Mugello as Valtteri Bottas finished second and Alex Albon scored his maiden F1 podium. The 1000thrace for Ferrari saw multiple car crashes and two red flags as Hamilton took the 90th race win of his career, one behind Michael Schumacher.
London, 19 Sept 2020: Qualifying saw Mercedes maintain their Saturday pace advantage as Hamilton qualified on pole and Bottas second. Max Verstappen and Alex Albon lined up astern of the Mercedes drivers in P3 & P4. Charles Leclerc managed to qualify P5 in an inferior Ferrari, ahead of the two Racing Points of Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll. Ricciardo wasP8 and Renault teammate Esteban Ocon in P10. McLaren’s Carlos Sainz qualified in P9. His teammate Lando Norris lined up in P11- missing out on Q3 for the first time this season. Daniil Kvyat started in P12, while his AlphaTauri teammate and surprise Monza race winner, Pierre Gasly could not get out of Q1 and settled for P16 on the grid. Kimi Raikkonen dragged his Alfa Romeo up to P13, his ex-teammate Sebastian Vettel could only manage to qualify his Ferrari in P14. Haas drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen qualified in 15th& 20th respectively. Antonio Giovinazzi was in P17 and the Williams duo of George Russell and Nicholas Latifi lined up in 18th& 19th.
P2 looked like the place to start from the grid as Bottas got a better start than Hamilton and used the slipstream to get ahead of the championship leader. Behind them, Verstappen too had a good start, but due to power unit issues bogged down and lost places. As the field approached turn 2, Sainz spun with contact from Stroll and Gasly was squeezed by Raikkonen and Grosjean. The trio of Raikkonen, Gasly and Grosjean collected Verstappen. Due to the contact Gasly and Verstappen were beached in the gravel trap. Raikkonen escaped with front wing damage and Grosjean survived but with lot of car damage resulting in downforce loss. Understandably, Verstappen showed frustration as this was his second consecutive DNF. Meanwhile Vettel had collected spun Sainz and damaged his front wing.
The safety car was called- which was red in colour as a tribute to Ferrari’s 1000th Grand Prix. The race resumed on lap 7. The start/finish line is halfway down the straight on this circuit. Therefore, so as to not give slipstream to Hamilton, Bottas left it late for the restart. The middle of the pack accelerated as they pre-empted Bottas’s start. This resulted in a horrific crash which included Giovinazzi who reared into Magnussen and collected Latifi. Sainz could not evade Giovinazzi and crashed into him. Barely 3 corners of racing had taken place and the race was red flagged-second time in as many races.
The two Mercedes and Williams’ Russell changed to medium tyres as the field got ready for a second standing start. This time it was Bottas on pole and Hamilton in advantageous P2. Leclerc had made up to P3 before the safety car and red flag.
History repeated itself, Hamilton darting past Bottas into P1 as they exited turn 1. Behind them Leclerc was running in P3, Stroll P4, Ricciardo P5, Albon P6 and Perez in P7. As Leclerc’s tyres faded he fell down to P7. He pitted on lap 21 for hard tyres.
Hamilton takes the flag for his 90th win at the Tuscan Grand Prix, on Sunday – A LAT Image for Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team Stroll was in P3, in the running for a second consecutive podium. Renault pulled the trigger and boxed Ricciardo from P4 in an attemptto undercut Stroll. It worked as Stroll emerged behind Ricciardo on lap 30 after pitting for medium tyres. Meanwhile Perez and Norris had pitted on lap 27 & 28 respectively. Ahead Bottas was unable to close up to Hamilton and requested for an alternate tyre strategy. Due to vibrations on Bottas’s medium tyres Mercedes pitted him on lap 31 for hard tyres, subsequently pitting Hamilton for the same on lap 32. Bottas request was overruled by Mercedes as they had flashbacks to the British GP and tyre blowouts. As the race progressed Ricciardo maintained his P3 and Russell was running in P9, on the cusp of achieving his first career points.
The drama was not over yet. On lap 43 Stroll smashed into the barriers at turn 9, fortunately unhurt. The safety car was once more called to duty. The race was red flagged a second time as the damaged barrier had to be repaired. The whole grid bolted on soft tyres for a 12-lap sprint race in the end. This was the first race to see 2 red flags since 2016 Brazilian GP.
This time Bottas was in P2- prime position to take the lead as Hamilton was once again on pole for the third start. Hamilton had his best start of the race, as Bottas had the opposite and fell behind Ricciardo. Bottas was able to overtake the Renault on the next lap. Behind Ricciardo’s dream of a podium was shot down as Albon passed him for P3.
Hamilton won the race and with it took the fastest lap point as Bottas completed 1-2 finish for Mercedes. Albon achieved his first podium in F1, thanking Red Bull after the race for sticking with him. Ricciardo missed out on podium and unfortunately Ocon retired under the second red flag as his brakes overheated. Perez finished in P5, Norris had an uneventful race in P6 and Kvyat finished in P7. Leclerc finished in P8, Raikkonen in P9 due to a 5-second penalty because of entering the pit lane after the pit line.Vettel rounded of the top 10.Russell just missed out on his inaugural points in P11 and Grosjean finished last in P12. There were 8 car retirements in the race.
Mercedes still maintain pace advantage over Red Bull. Red Bull looked closer to Mercedes in terms of race pace, but due to Verstappen DNF, we do not know if Red Bull could have challenged for the race victory. Renault did not have the pace in qualifying as they could not find the optimum downforce set up. Their race pace was much better as Ricciardo might have got a podium had there not been the second red flag. McLaren performed below their expectations in qualifying and race as they finished behind Racing Point and Renault. Interesting to note, McLaren trialed Mercedes style thin nose cone in Friday practice. It remains to be seen if they will incorporate it permanently on their car.
Racing Point arrived at Mugello with significant upgrades around the bargeboard and sidepod area. The opening of the sidepods was overhauled, they start behind the mandatory crash structure for better airflow management. The sidepod shape changed too, they drooped down at the rear and made a sharper coke bottle shape to accelerate the airflow for greater downforce generation. This upgrade was worth three-tenths of a second (0.3s). Only Stroll had the package on his car because only one was available. After their surprise win, AlphaTauri slipped into their customary midfield position. Gasly underperformed & DNF’d while Kvyat made the most of red flags to finish in a respectable P7. Ferrari were disappointing in their 1000th GP as their race pace was slower than Alfa Romeo and Williams. Vettel barely managed to get to Q2 while Leclerc was overtaken quickly as he neither had straight line speed nor the tyres as he was unable to conserve them. Alfa Romeo and Williams can be encouraged as they showed better pace than Ferrari, especially in the latter stages of the race when tyre wear was a factor. Haas’s true pace could notbe seen as Magnussen retired and Grosjean had damage through which he lost 70 points of downforce.
Breaking story before the race weekend was that Vettel would be joining Racing Point next season (2021) as Sergio Perez was let go. It remains to be seen if Perez will drive for any team next season.
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Lewis Hamilton wins drama-filled Tuscan GP; Maiden podium for Alex Albon
Mugello, 13 Sept 2020: Lewis Hamilton won a drama-filled, incident-packed Tuscan Grand Prix that was twice red-flagged due to crashes. The Briton took his 90th career F1 win ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas, while Red Bull Racing’s Alex Albon scored his first Formula 1 podium finish with third place in the 9th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship here on Sunday.
Hamilton didn’t have it all his own way, however, and at the start, he was beaten off the line by Bottas who surged into an early lead. For the first time this season, a limited number of fans were present.
Further back though there was trouble for Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver reported a power unit issue on his laps to the grid and once he lined up in P3 his crew were quickly into action to try to solve the problem.
The issue appeared to have been resolved but after making a great start Verstappen suddenly lost power and dropped back into the pack. There, in Turn 2, Haas’ Romain Grosjean made contact with the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly who vaulted over the rear right wheel of Kimi Räikkönen’s Alfa Romeo. The Finn slammed into the back of Verstappen’s Red Bull and the Dutchman was pitched into the gravel where he became beached.
The safety car was released but on the lap six restart, there was more drama as a chain reaction crash involving Alfa’s Antonio Giovinazzi, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz brought out the red flags and the remaining cars funnelled into the pit lane.
After an almost half-hour stoppage the cars reformed on the grid for a standing start, with Bottas ahead of Hamilton, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and the second Red Bull of Alex Albon.
When the lights went out Hamilton made a good start passed Bottas to take the lead through Turn 1. Albon, though, got a poor getaway and he fell to seventh as Leclerc held third ahead of Racing Point’s Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez, and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.
Leclerc held onto P3 as bravely as he could, but with his Ferrari down on power compared to his rivals, it wasn’t long before he was passed by, first, Stroll and then by Ricciardo and Albon.
The first round of regulations stops saw the Mercedes drivers both take on hard tyres as they continued to hold the top two positions. Behind them, though, Ricciardo successfully undercut Stroll to steal P3.
Albon then pitted for medium tyres on lap 32 and he was soon outpacing Stroll by over a second a lap. He cut the gap to just 1.1s but on lap 42 the race took another dramatic twist when Stroll crashed out at Arrabbiata 2. The Canadian appeared to suffer a puncture as he entered the high-speed corner and his Racing Point slid off track and hit the barriers hard.
For a second time the race was red-flagged and the remaining cars streamed back to the pit lane to await a third standing start.
When that came, with just a dozen laps remaining, Hamilton got away well, but Bottas was passed by Ricciardo. Albon again had a tricky getaway and lost ground to Pérez in Turn 1. The Red Bull driver was in no mood to give up fourth place, however, and powered past the Mexican around the outside of to retake fourth place.
Bottas was just a quick to exact revenge on Ricciardo and Albon then closed on the Renault driver. On lap 50 The Red Bull man got close enough and under DRS he powered around the outside to Turn 1 to complete the move on the Australian.
Though Bottas pushed Hamilton in the final laps, the Briton managed trhe gap well to eventually cross the line first. Bottas completely another Mercedes one-two and four seconds later Albon took the flag to seal his first F1 podium finish.
Behind him Ricciardo took fourth place, with Pérez fifth. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished sixth ahead of AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat, while Leclerc was eighth for Ferrari. Räikkönen managed to hang to a points finish with ninth place despite incurring a five-second time penalty for a pit lane infringement and the final point on offer went to Vettel who sealed a double points finish for Ferrari at its 1000th grand prix.
2020 FIA Formula 1 Tuscan Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 59 2:19’35.060
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 59 2:19’39.940 4.880
3 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 59 2:19’43.124 8.064
4 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 59 2:19’45.477 10.417
5 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 59 2:19’50.710 15.650
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 59 2:19’53.943 18.883
7 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 59 2:19’56.816 21.756
8 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 59 2:20’03.405 28.345
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 59 2:20’04.830 29.770
10 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 59 2:20’05.043 29.983
11 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 59 2:20’07.464 32.404
12 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 59 2:20’17.096 42.036
Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 42 1:31’32.748 Retirement
Esteban Ocon Renault 7 15’39.081 Brakes
Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 6 13’28.971 Collision
Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 5 11’16.573 Collision
Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 5 11’18.546 Collision
Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 5 11’19.454 Collision
Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 0 Collision
Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 0. -
Lewis Hamilton takes pole ahead of Bottas, Verstappen
Mugello, 12 Sept 2020: Lewis Hamilton beat Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by just six-hundredths of a second to claim pole position for the first Formula 1 Tuscan Grand Prix. Max Verstappen will meanwhile line up at the front of an all-Red Bull second row, with team-mate Alex Albon in fourth place.
On the occasion of the team’s 1000th Formula 1 Grand Prix, Ferrari honour was upheld by Charles Leclerc who took fifth place on the grid.
In Q1, Bottas led the way ahead of the final, with the Finn taking P1 thanks to a lap of 1:15.749. That put him just three-hundredths of a second ahead of Hamilton. Verstappen’s first run of 1:16.335 netted him a third place ahead of the Racing Points of Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez, while Albon slotted into P6 thanks to his opening lap of 1:17.018.
In the drop zone ahead of those final runs were Monza winner Pierre Gasly, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen, Williams’ George Russell and the Haas cars of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen.
And while Räikkönen and Grosjean were able to claw their way to safety there was no escape for Gasly. The AlphaTauri driver briefly climbed to P15, but as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel dropped down the order and then bounced back, and as Grosjean vaulted to 14th, Gasly slipped to P16 and elimination ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi, Russell, Nicholas Latifi and Magnussen.
The top three in Q1 remained static in the final runs but Albon went out for another run and a good lap saw him jump to P4 at the flag with a lap of 1:16.527, just under two tenths behind Verstappen.
The opening runs of Q2 saw Hamilton make his way to the top of the order for the first time in the weekend after Bottas had topped all three practice sessions.
The Briton opened his Q2 account with a lap of 1:15.309, which put him just 0.013s ahead of his team-mate. Verstappen once again took third place just 0.162 behind Hamilton, and Albon found his way to fourth place with a lap of 1:15.914, three tenths ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.
The top five stayed in the pit lane during the final runs and the order at the top remained static. Behind them, Stroll went through to Q3 in P6 ahead of the second Renault of Esteban Ocon, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and the second Racing Point of Pérez.
The final Q3 spot was taken by McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, at the expense of his own team-mate Lando Norris who was eliminated ahead of AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat.
There was no late reprieve this time for Vettel, however. The Ferrari driver fell to P14 and was outpaced by Alfa Romeo’s Räikkönen. Grosjean too dropped out in P15.
Hamilton continued to set the pace in the first runs of Q3. The Briton took provisional pole with a lap of 1:15.144, six hundredths of a second ahead of Bottas. The Bulls once again took up residence in P3 and P4 with Verstappen four tenths of a second ahead of Albon.
Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez found his way to fifth with his sole, late lap of the segment to sit ahead of Ricciard, Leclerc, Sainz and Ocon who did not go out in the first runs.
The final runs looked set to be a tight contest but in the end there were few major improvements. Hamilton failed to find more time and when Bottas’ lap was compromised by yellow flags brought out by a spin for Ocon the championship leader coasted to his 95th career pole position.
Verstappen managed to make a small improvement on his final run but with the wind picking up during the final laps, the four hundredths of a second he found were not enough to dislodge Bottas from P2.
Albon also failed to make gains on his final flyer but even though Leclerc jumped to P5 with a good final lap, the Ferrari driver was still three tenths away from troubling the Thai driver.
Sergio Pérez qualified sixth for Racing Point ahead of Lance Stroll but the team-mates will swap places on the grid tomorrow as the Mexican driver is due to take a one-place grid penalty for a collision with Räikkönen in Friday practice. Daniel Ricciardo took eighth place for Renault ahead of McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, while Ocon will start from tenth on the grid.
2020 FIA Formula 1 Tuscan Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:15.144 6 251.277
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:15.203 0.059 5 251.080
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:15.509 0.365 6 250.062
4 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 1:15.954 0.810 5 248.597
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:16.270 1.126 6 247.567
6 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 1:16.311 1.167 3 247.434
7 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1:16.356 1.212 5 247.289
8 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:16.543 1.399 5 246.684
9 Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 1:17.870 2.726 5 242.481
10 Esteban Ocon Renault 2
11 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1:16.640 1.331 6 246.372
12 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 1:16.854 1.545 5 245.686
13 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:16.854 1.545 6 245.686
14 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:16.858 1.549 6 245.673
15 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1:17.254 1.945 6 244.414
16 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:17.125 1.376 6 244.823
17 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:17.220 1.471 6 244.522
18 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:17.232 1.483 9 244.484
19 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:17.320 1.571 9 244.205
20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:17.348 1.599 6 244.117 -
Valtteri did a great job in pushing me: Hamilton
The following top-three drivers attended the FIA post-qualification Press Conference: 1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes); 2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes) and 3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull)
TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Jenson Button)
Q: Max, we thought you would be challenging the Mercedes in qualifying. Q1 and Q2 seemed really good but it just fell away there in Q3?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I personally never expected to really fight them in qualifying but I think overall so far this weekend it has been really promising and I think we bounced back well from Monza where it was tricky. So at the end to be third here in qualifying, we can be very happy with that.
Q: When you stand here, you really feel the wind and that’s just stood here in the pit lane but when you’re up in the hills when you are going through Turns 3 and 4 and out the back do you really feel the wind?
MV: Yeah, to be honest, I think it picked up a little bit in Q3, because my first run was not amazing but then the second run I think laptime-wise it was a little bit better but I think the track was not the same because of the wind. But it is what it is. It’s really tricky anyway these cars with the wind. But the track is amazing to drive. In qualifying it was really something special.
Q: Congratulations Lewis, you always seem to be able to, as we all know, pull it out when need be. That was very impressive.
Lewis HAMILTON: Thank you. It’s been a really, really tough weekend if I am really honest. Firstly, this track is phenomenal. Have you ever driven it?
Q: Yes, 2005, a long, long time ago.
LH: Oh jeez, that is a long, long time.
Q: Thanks.
LH: It’s a really challenging circuit and as you saw Valtteri was quicker than me all day yesterday and even this morning, and even in Q1. I’ve been working so hard in the background to really try to improve on my lines, improve on my set-up and with the engineers we did such a great job. The mechanics as always did an amazing job. I finally got the lap I needed. At the end there I think the wind picked up so I wasn’t able to go any quicker but nonetheless it was a job done.
Q: It must feel extra special when you have to push yourself that hard, or Valtteri is pushing you that hard, and on such a special circuit?
LH: It’s crazy. I don’t know if people are seeing, I’m sure they are on TV, but you’re going through Turns 6, 7, 8, 9 at like 170-180 mph, and the G-force we are pulling through there is just insane. It just gets more and more as you get through 8 and then through 9. Ten and 1 and 2 were the areas I needed to improve and I managed to pick it up once I got into qualifying. Valtteri did a great job in pushing me but I’m happy to be here.
Q: Valtteri, you’ve been strong from FP1 pretty much all the way through to Q3. Do you think that yellow flag hampered you in that last run?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Definitely. Definitely. I still had more, more time in there. I was just waiting for the time to get it all right. Run one was OK but not perfect and I was just looking forward to it but I just didn’t get the opportunity. For sure it’s disappointing because the speed has been good all weekend.
Q: We’ve seen. Tomorrow, everybody is thinking this is going to be a procession this race. I do disagree with that. Watching the junior formulas there is quite a lot of overtaking into turn one. Do you think it will possible tomorrow and you can have a proper race with Lewis?
VB: Actually, coming into the weekend we though it was going to be nearly impossible but what we experienced in the practice session, actually the track is so wide and there are so many different lines you can take in the corners so you can avoid the [inaudible] in the corner, so maybe. I really hope so. There’s a long run into Turn 1 and I hope the headwind stays for the race start because that would be a nice benefit.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, many congratulations, what a qualifying session. It’s been so close between you and Valtteri this weekend. How hard was it to beat him today?
LH: It’s always incredibly hard to beat Valtteri and he’s consistently improving and pushing to the limit. Straight from the get-go this weekend Valtteri has had the upper hand. It was difficult at the beginning to know where we stood, it looked like the Red Bulls, Max, was closer to us than perhaps the last race and yeah, Valtteri was quicker all day yesterday, quicker this morning, quicker into Q1. It was like nothing I did, I was making all these changes, I changed a lot in the set-up and again just really studying the kerbs and trying to make sure I improved in all the areas I was weak. And I went out in Q1 and I still wasn’t quick enough. But I love that challenge and I really enjoy the battle with Valtteri. Once I got to Q2 I got quite a good lap and my Q3, run one, was a decent lap. I think there was still a little bit of time left on the table so I was hoping to get that for the last one. But I think the wind picked up. I could really feel it a little bit more gusty down the straight up into Turn 1 and the car was sliding around a lot more on that lap. So I ended up being a bit down. But nonetheless I really, really enjoyed qualifying today, this track is amazing. Max was saying we should come here again. Plus, we’re in Tuscany, it’s a beautiful place to be.
Q: And looking ahead to the race tomorrow, do you think we are going to see overtaking, how many pit stops that kind of thing?
LH: I honestly don’t know. I’m not quite sure: hopefully more than one. And in terms of following, it’s a medium-, high-speed circuit, it’s not going to be easy to follow, particularly through that middle sector. But maybe tyre temps, track temp might mean there’s more degradation maybe. The corners are very long and you can take multiple lines, which I like. Like through Turn 12 you can take a different line through there. You can take a different line through the last corner and even the first corner. So I’m hopeful that that means a little bit of racing.
Q: Valtteri, coming on to you. You must have fancied your chances of pole position today?
VB: Sorry I don’t understand you?
Q: Did you think you were going to get pole position today? You were looking so good, so confident coming into the session?
VB: Yeah, for sure. It’s been a good start to the weekend and good practice sessions, including today and after practice three I was still looking at all the things that had to be improved for qualifying. Everything was going nice and smooth, Q1, Q2. The Q3 first lap wasn’t quite good enough so I also felt there’s definitely time still to be found. I was confident of myself doing it, but obviously there was no chance with the double yellows in the second run. In the end I should have just done a better job in the first run. Lewis managed to find the pace ands his first run was better than mine and that’s it.
Q: But you pace in Friday was good. Are you confident going into the race tomorrow?
VB: I am, yeah. The long runs were good so it’s still all to play for. Of course it would be nicer to start from pole but it’s one of the longest runs of this season into Turn 1 and if the headwind stays the towing is going to be quite powerful into Turn 1, so try to turn my thoughts into the race.
Q: Max, good to see Red Bull back up there again this weekend. Just how competitive was the car? How difficult was it to dial it into this race track?
MV: Luckily from the start I think the car was in a good window. Night and day difference compared to Monza, but of course at Monza downforce levels and everything is very different. So I felt very happy in the car. It was all about fine-tuning things and, of course, trying to do things better – but overall it’s been a very positive weekend so far. We were reasonably close to them now, in qualifying so yeah, can be happy with that. Q3, I expected a little bit more from Q3 but my first run wasn’t, let’s say, the best lap of my life. It wasn’t bad – but it wasn’t the best. And then yeah, I wanted to push a bit more in the second run. Even when I was close to Lewis, so bit more in a tow but, like Lewis said, I think the wind picked up, so yeah, I think the track was just a bit slower. I still managed to improve a little bit, so it meant, I think, there was still a little bit more in it – but not four-tenths, I think it was, or whatever. Anyway, I didn’t expect to beat them in qualifying but I’m pleased that we are back in third in qualifying and actually yeah, not too far away.
Q: Didn’t expect to beat them in qualifying but do you expect to be closer in the race?
MV: Well, for once we have quite decent top speed now this year, so I think that’s quite good around here – but it won’t be easy to pass but at least the track, the last few corners, they are a bit wide and long so you can do a few different lines – but it’s all going to depend, anyway, first of all on if you have the pace to follow, and second of all, of course tyre degradation.
VIDEO CONFERENCE
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Question to all three drivers. Daniel Ricciardo spoke of being out of breath after one of his laps in qualifying. I was just wondering, did you have a similar experience going around. How was it physically for you out there today?
MV: I don’t know, maybe he’s been dancing a bit too much. Or something. Honestly, I expected it to be worse before I came here, just driving-wise. It has been fine. It’s just very enjoyable to drive here. It’s very flowing. OK, the g-forces are high but in Silverstone, for example, they’re high as well. I just really enjoy sitting in the car, having those fast, long corners. Anyway, in qualifying, when you’re on the limit, pushing, you’re always breathing a bit heavier, I guess than in a normal lap – but nothing crazy, to be honest.
LH: We’re always asked these questions and ultimately we’re all athletes. So train and we’re used to the conditions that we are faced with – but at the end of the day it’s incredibly physical, I think, this track, being that it’s medium and high-speed. It’s not easy at all, physically, particularly through that fast section – but like Max says, it’s like Silverstone and those others. You’re definitely not ending the lap with a low heart-rate. I definitely think that I’m breathing heavier, for sure, particularly at the end of the lap, because there’s so much focus. There’s no room for error, you’re completely tensed: your whole body is completely tense the whole lap. You’re fully engaged in every muscle throughout the lap, and it’s bumpier than ever, and it’s understandable.
VB: For sure one of the most physical tracks – but as these two, I really like it here. That’s how it should be. I like a bit of pain! It’s always good fun but yeah, in the end, on the qualifying lap, it was so focussed that you don’t really feel any pain. You definitely notice after the lap that you know you’ve done something.
LH: They need to take away the majority of the steering assist. I think we need heavier steering.
MV: Maybe they can increase the weight limit a bit – that would be nice for the drivers. Otherwise I might have some issues.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Lewis, you were quite honest after practice yesterday, saying this was a serious track that you hadn’t quite mastered yet and you had a bit of homework to do. So how satisfying is it to come out today and do the job that you’ve done in qualifying. Is it more satisfying that a routine qualifying session? And how intense is that process of trying to master a new circuit like this?
LH: Normally, I tend to think in my past, I felt that one of my strengths was learning a circuit quite quickly, and for this one, we went on the simulator, which I never do, and don’t feel like I’ve benefitted particularly, but then getting here there was a lot of work that… the pressure was incredibly high. Because, as I said, y’know, I’m going out there and doing laps and struggling to get to the limit, find the limit in certain sectors and Valtteri was miles ahead in some of those areas. So, of course the pressure was higher than ever – because if I hadn’t done the work then I wouldn’t had got the result that we got at the end. So, there’s an incredible amount of detail that you have to go into. Last night, dissecting every single corner basically, and sector and really trying to fine-tune that set-up. And, as a racing driver, there’s a real fine line between knowing whether you’ve got understeer or oversteer and whether you’re on the limit or not in certain places – because you can be on the limit through one corner but not through the rest of the corners, for example. Or it can be the first one and not the second one and then the third one you are. So really understanding whether you’ve got the balance right, within yourself, and then knowing what to request for when you do move towards the limit, what you need. Because you have to pre-empt what the car is going to do. It’s a real science to it. That’s why I have so much respect for all these drivers because it’s not only the ability to drive but to understand those things and to be engineers at the end of the day. We have to work with these geniuses that can balance numbers like nobody else – but we need to be able to do that on the track.
Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsportmagazin.com) Two questions: first one for all three, was a bit surprising that no one opted for the medium tyre, so why did you go with the soft? Was the delta lap time too big? And second question for Max: seems like you were pretty fast in the last sector; does it make you even more confident that you have an overtaking possibility when you can keep in touch in the last sector?
VB: Obviously the softer tyre is always quite a benefit at the race start and it is a long run into turn one. That’s always one reason and of course we always look ahead for the race strategy with the tyre choice and we believe we are on the best tyre for our car and it seemed like all the other teams opted for the same selection.
LH: I wanted to use the medium tyre but there is a loss at the start. I don’t know if they do that analysis for the viewers but obviously we have a very long run uphill to turn one and whilst in the first stint a medium tyre would perhaps be better in terms of pace and length, you lose meters just from the compound up into turn one so we didn’t want to take that risk.
MV: Like Lewis and Valtteri said, at the start, of course, it’s not ideal but sometimes in the previous races I didn’t mind taking that risk, just trying also something different, but this time I was very happy on the softs so there was no reason to go on the medium.
Q: And the second part of that question: pace in the last sector?
MV: Yeah, all weekend we have been pretty good there. It’s basically only two corners so 12 and 15, I think, so the car was not too bad and then the straights in between, we run a bit less wing compared to some other cars, I think, and it gives me a bit of an advantage. We managed to stabilise the car around it so yeah, I just hope that I can follow them in the other sectors, that is going to be the key, to be able to overtake, but let’s see tomorrow.
Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Lewis, why was it to challenging for you to get into the groove around this circuit? And Max and Valtteri, did you find it similarly challenging to get to grips with this track?
LH: I’m not really sure. I don’t really have a great answer for that, to be honest. I came here with the same mental approach. As I said, I prepared… the track, to do extra work in the sense of doing the simulator. I think that the first couple of laps in practice one looked good and then they just pulled away in terms of how much improvement everyone was making. For me, some of it was balance – I was really struggling with the balance of the car so at the end of the day it’s confidence here because you have to really have to carry a lot of speed into these corners. Naturally it’s a high speed circuit, so not wanting to put a foot wrong and if you’re uncomfortable with the balance of the rear of the car then you just pull back and then you’re just too slow at the apex and exit of a lot of these corners so I think it was that but I think at the end I got, as I said, a lot of work went into… did a lot of work with the engineers to get the set-up where I wanted it and I was really happy… again, going into qualifying, I made a relatively big change and it worked out really well so that’s our real strength, the work that we do behind the scenes and constantly trying to evolve that.
Q: Valtteri, how much of an advantage were those laps you did here back in 2012?
VB: Well, that was in the wet so I don’t think they really made a big difference and it’s quite a while ago. But I really enjoy the whole process of learning a new track, kind of, because the cars are so different and just finding, step by step, the limits and the small secrets of the track. I’ve always loved that. There’s no big issues but even though it looked right at the end I was on the pace but there was always big chunks where I could have done better and actually the rate of improvement from practice to the second and third and qualifying was pretty big.
MV: So I’ve been here a few weeks ago. Of course it was not a Formula 1 car but it does give you, I think, a better idea than driving on the simulator. OK, I grew up driving on a simulator but I still find it a way better to be here in a real live car, it gives you more of an idea of what lines you have to take, because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what car you’re driving, you’re riding at more or less the same. So I think that helped me a bit, to get started but not only that, also to set up the car because of course when I come here, I’m not just cruising around, I’m also working on the set-up and trying to make that car fast as well, so it gave me an idea of how to start with the wing level and roll stiffness of the car and stuff like this, so when we started, I think the car was already in a very good window, I knew the track from a few weeks ago instead of a few years ago – I think that always helps because for example, going to Imola, I’ve been there like a few years ago, everything, like kerbs, they’ve changed over the years so it will be a bit more difficult than let’s say what happened here and so that definitely helped to just kick start the first practice.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, you’ve spoken about the high speeds at which you take some of these corners, do you think fatigue could be a factor in tomorrow’s race?
LH: Physical fatigue? I hope not, that’s what we train to avoid. I would say eight and nine are a little bit like Turkey, the double left-hander, maybe not as intense in terms of the speed. I think it might be faster through those… I can’t remember. This is the strongest side for most of the drivers so I think so.
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Max, I think this is the closest margin you’ve been to pole all year. Do you have an explanation as to why Red Bull’s relatively more competitive and do you have any feeling what that might mean for the race?
MV: From our side, I can say that we did a very good job setting up the car for this weekend, compared to some other weekends where we have been a bit further away where I was not entirely happy with the car so yeah, I think we really more or less maximised so far what we could do this weekend. We started straightaway with a positive balance in the car, I think the right wing level for our car so I guess that explains a bit. Maybe the track characteristic as well a little bit – we seem to be a bit better on higher downforce tracks with the car, so yeah, I think that might explain four or whatever tenths it is.
Ends
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Team leaders praise Ferrari on their 1000th race
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Mattia BINOTTO (Ferrari), Otmar SZAFNAUER (Racing Point), Guenther STEINER (Haas)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Otmar, perhaps we can start with you please. We’re at Ferrari’s 1000th race. What are your best memories of watching Ferrari as a Formula 1 fan?
Otmar SZAFNAUER: It’s a good question. I had respect for Ferrari as a fan. The first time I ever saw them race was in the early eighties in Detroit when I was in university at the time and went down – I studied in Detroit so I went down to the grand prix and I remember the Ferraris battling with the, I think it was the Hondas at the time, and having worked for Ford Motor Company and General Motors I was at that time rooting a little bit more for Ferrari than Honda. So that was when it started. And then the Michael Schumacher years were absolutely incredible. They dominated and I remember those years too – but at that point I was more than a fan. I was working hard at British-American Racing to try to beat them.
Q: Same question to you Guenther. Your best memories of watching Ferrari as a Formula 1 fan.
Guenther STEINER: I think it was when Lauda came back from his big accident in the seventies. I remember getting up at night, watching him when he made the comeback in Japan when I think he lost the championship there. Coming from the north of Italy, for sure everybody was rooting for Ferrari and Lauda being so successful. That’s my memory of Ferrari. That sticks – and I think it’s a great company. It does a lot for Formula 1, it has done over the time. They have over 1000 grands prix now, which you think is a number but it’s a big number. So, yeah, it’s part of it.
Q: Coming to you Mattia. As Guenther says, it’s a big number. It’s a huge number. On a personal level for you, what does this milestone mean?
Mattia BINOTTO: On a personal level it’s an honour. I think being here today with my current role, head of Scuderia Ferrari and team principal and somehow also greeting the 1000, I think it’s certainly a responsibility but first of all it’s an honour because it’s a big history. It’s so long since 1950, always been here, never stopped. I think being the very first one, the most winning team, Constructor, Drivers’, number of race victories. So, at the end, I think it really is an honour, because when I was a kid, I was a fan. And so I never thought I could be here.
Q: Otmar, one of the biggest news stories coming into this weekend was confirmation that Sebastian Vettel will race for Aston Martin next year. What does his signature mean to the team?
OS: Well, we took a bit of time to make the decision between Sergio and Sebastian which just goes to show what a great job Sergio has done for us for the last seven years. However with Aston Martin coming in, and a bit of financial backing behind the team, a new factory happening in Silverstone, improving the team, adding twenty per cent more personnel, we’ve got some infrastructure too, that we’re embarking on to make this go faster, and therefore a driver like Sebastian who brings with him the experience of winning four World Championships and 53 races can only be beneficial for us. And he will help us take that next step that we all need to take in the coming years such that we can consistently race among the top three, top four teams.
Q: And what are you giving away in letting Sergio Pérez go?
OS: Well, he knows the team well, he’s got loads of experience. He’s a tenacious racer come Sunday, he’s a good qualifier. Rarely makes mistakes, brings home the points and if there’s a sniff of a podium, he’s usually there. So yeah, we are giving away quite a bit and I wish Checo the best of luck. He deserves to be in Formula 1 and I hope he can find a spot and we’re racing against him next year.
Q: Guenther, coming to you, one of the potential vacancies for Checo Pérez is Haas. How interested are you in hiring him for next year?
GS: I think Otmar did a pretty good sales pitch for him. He must be his agent as well! What Otmar said is true. He’s a good racer but we are just looking. There are a lot of candidates out there at the moment which we are talking with, which we are thinking about and we just need to come up with a decision. For a team, it’s quite good to be in the market because you have got a lot of things which you can pick up. We are in no rush to do anything and we just think it through, we come to a conclusion with an answer when we are ready.
Q: What are the criteria you’re looking for? How do you approach the problem of driver selection when you have so much choice?
GS: I don’t want to go through all the criterias but it needs to be a package, and what we need to see, how do we want to… what do we want to do in the future? How it is best of the team? We’re not just thinking about next year. Then, if you’re short on thinking, it is pretty easy: you try to get the fastest guy as quick as possible in. But we are thinking about the next five years after we have signed our Concorde Agreement now. So, we want to build up again, that we are getting back to the results that we had in 2018. That takes a bit more time to think it through: financially, talent, it’s a lot of things coming into play. And that is where we are. As I said, we are in no hurry.
Q: Mattia, from a performance point of view, things look better, certainly in FP1 with Charles being P3. How confident are you of maintaining that form as we head towards the business end of the weekend.
MB: Not at all. Not at all. I think it is a brand-new circuit for everyone. Each single driver, each single team. I think the track will pick-up speed as well, so I’m pretty sure all drivers and teams will now look at the data, adapting their driving style and they will be a lot faster obviously this afternoon in FP2 and then later in the weekend. But I think, as we said, hopefully Belgium and Monza have been outliers for us. These were certainly different tracks where low drag is required. So we hope that here at least we can to our level of competitiveness at the start of the season, which is certainly not still great but at least we’re where we were before. Yes Charles did a great lap, he got the confidence with the track. I think he drove well – but still there is much to do, much to come as well on our side, looking at the data, the sectors and progressing through the weekend.
VIDEO CONFERENCE
Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Question to Otmar. Otmar, you’ve just done a Sky F1 interview where you’ve said that Checo was kept aware about your talks with Vettel, even though he’s claimed yesterday ‘nobody told me anything’. He also said yesterday that we could have appreciated a bit more clarity from the team about next year so he could have got a Plan B in place a bit sooner. Do you feel there’s more that Racing Point could have done to maybe help him for next year and keep him up-to-date with things?
OS: We did keep Sergio up to date as well as his manager Julian. When the decision is a difficult one, and it hasn’t been made, there really isn’t much more that you can say. So yeah, I don’t think we could have said anything more, otherwise we’d be guessing what the future was.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) A question to both Guenther and Otmar. To do with the arbitration over the Column 1 money back to 2018. I believe that’s come to a conclusion. Please could you tell us where your respective teams sat on the matter?
OS: We’re pleased that it’s come to a conclusion and we can now, the entire team, can focus on what we’re here to do, which is go racing and entertain the fans. We’re happy that it’s behind us.
Guenther, anything to add?
GS: No, nothing to add. What Otmar said is right. We move on.
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport.com) Mattia, Toto Wolff said at the Silverstone press conference that one of our main competitors with a 3D camera was scanning the Mercedes cars inside and outside the garage. Main competitors suggest it was either Red Bull or Ferrari. Can you just clarify if you feel addressed by this statement of him?
MB: Honestly, no idea. I’ve no idea if someone was scanning their car. Certainly it was not us. Honestly can’t comment on it. I think that taking pictures, scanning, I do not see any way, anyhow a problem with it. I think what is wrong eventually is to do reverse engineering on entire car. But I think that one now has been clarified in the wording by FIA and I’m happy with that conclusion.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Otmar, when you were bombarded with questions about your driver line-up over recent weeks you’ve always stuck to the statement that both drivers were under contract for 2021. So, could you just explain exactly what changed to enable you to move Checo aside. Because the messaging from the team was an attempt to be emphatic, so there was unlikely to be a change.
OS: They were contracted at that point and, not to go into confidential clauses of our driver contracts, because we don’t do that, but exactly what I said in the past was true and as you can imagine there are probably some get-out clauses on both sides. But, anyway, we like not to talk about the details of drivers contracts.
Q: (Julien Billiotte – Auto Hebdo) Couple of questions to Otmar please. Otmar, what makes you confident that Seb will return to the Vettel that won all these titles and race wins, with you guys next year. Will he be allowed to beat Lance?
OS: I think the first bit was what makes us confident he’ll return to the Seb of old? Is that right? He’s 33 years old, he’s still in the prime of his career, he’s got a vast amount of experience, he’s still highly motivated to do well. He works really hard and we believe with our team and what we want to take it to and the level that we want to get to Seb’s a perfect fit for that and I’m confident that he’ll race well. We’ve always allowed our drivers to race each other and that’ll be the same in the future.
Mattia, perhaps we could get your thoughts on Sebastian switching to Aston Martin next year. What kind of a driver are they getting?
MB: As far as my thoughts, I think it is not a surprise. We are very happy for that conclusion. I think the fact that we told him very early in the season our decision for next year was really to give him all the chances to find a seat for 2021, so finally very happy for him as a person. As a driver, I think it’s great for Formula 1 that’s Seb’s still part of the line-ups next year because he’s still a four-times World Champion and I think he’s a fantastic driver. Will he do well in Aston Martin or Racing Point or whatever it is? I think yes, I hope he’s doing well, certainly. I think we can challenge him next year and hopefully we’ll be simply ahead.
Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) You said a few minutes ago it took a while to make the choice between Checo and Sebastian. That seems to suggest Lance was never at threat of being dropped. Can you confirm that was the case? And if so, is that confirmation that basically the team, because of the ownership, was always going to stick with Lance, no matter what.
OS: Lance has been with us for a couple of years. He’s a young man at 21 years old and yeah, his father does own the team, so when he look to make a driver change, because Sebastian became available, it would have been Checo. Like I said before, there are options in his contract and those options didn’t exist for Lance.
Q: (Adam Cooper – motorsport.com) Two questions for all three of you. Firstly, the extra downforce cuts for 2021, now your guys have had a chance to look into the bigger change (audio breaks up). Secondly, this is the first of the new circuits. If we were at Imola, we’d now be going straight into qualifying after one practice session. Any thoughts on the challenge that’s going to provide?
Q: Downforce cuts for next season. Have your teams had a chance to look into them yet?
MB: Certainly yes. Obviously when you are developing a car you need to target the level of downforce efficiency for the car. I think certainly if we look at ourselves, too much drag in 2020, we are aware of it and certainly we need to reduce it, so we’ve got clear targets. So yes, the cut-out has been assessed. At the moment in the wind tunnel and on simulations, we are working towards that.
Guenther?
GS: Yeah, we looked into the changes from regulations to have less downforce next year. And we are working on it. The outcome is not fixed yet but it looks like it’s easier to get rid of downforce than to gain it, so it shouldn’t be difficult to do but you need to be efficient in how you do it. So, we are working on it and yeah, it’s work in progress.
OS: We’ve started work on it. It’s not an insignificant change, so there is going to be work required to gain back some of the losses that we’ve experienced. That’ll take up a significant amount of our ATRs just to gain that back.
Q: And part two of Adam’s questions is: Mugello is the first of the new circuits we’re going to this year. And if you fast forward to Imola, you will have had your only practice session before going into qualifying because it’s a two-day weekend. Can we just get your thoughts on that, and how ready and how prepared you would feel now?
MB: That’s a good point. If you look at this morning, for example, there is a lot of… there is big gaps between drivers and teams – but I don’t think that’s the true gaps between drivers and teams and they will all catch up and at the end I think it will all be a lot closer. So, if you think we move that into Imola, it means that after only a session, I think that drivers will go into quali being less prepared. I think everyone tried the simulator, so everyone tried to prepare themselves to at least Mugello by learning the track on simulators. But when you come to the true track it’s certainly always quite different. So, I think Imola in that respect will certainly be very interesting. I think it will be less here because we’ve got the entire Friday and Saturday morning but yeah, that’s an important factor.
OS: I’ll just echo what Mattia said. It’s absolutely right: when you go to a track that’s unknown, track time is premium. We’re going to have a significant amount of that removed from us, so we’ll have to learn much, much quicker and I think maybe we won’t see the grid as it normally is. Those that can learn quicker will have an advantage and, absolutely right, the simulator becomes more of an important tool.
Q: Would you do a different run plan at Imola. You set your fastest time on the prime tyre this morning…
OS: Yeah, we would do something differently when we get there, definitely.
Q: And Guenther, please?
GS: Yeah, I think what Mattia and Otmar said is right but also you have to consider here at Mugello some of the bigger teams they came here with older cars so therefore some of the drivers I think are better prepared than others because they drove here something, even not a current F1 car, which was completely legal. I think we went away from that, that you cannot go testing with old cars at race tracks which are new anymore. I don’t know if somebody went already to Imola but I think a part of the difference this morning was that one as well, because everyone is going everybody is going in the simulator but there is nothing like track time as you just said, so I think Imola if nobody is going there you shouldn’t have this big gap and I think it is quite positive if we achieve because then you see who is prepared to take more risk or who is learning quicker because there is a lot of elements and then maybe we can see a little bit of a mixed up grid getting to the race because one session and then qualifying there will be some surprises I anticipate. I’m not sure about it but if everybody is on a level playing field then the driver will makes the difference. For sure, it’s the engineers and how they set the car up but it could be quite interesting.
Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Otmar, I appreciate you don’t want to go into contract details. Would you have been able to rip up Sergio’s contract if he hadn’t missed those two races because he had COVID?
OS: It had no correlation with the races that he missed.
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC) Otmar, given that you basically admitted that you copied last year’s Mercedes as much as possible for this year’s Racing Point car design, how much do the new FIA rules that have been put in place after that controversy affect your programme for 2021 design? And to both you and Guenther, what happened with the resolution to the argument over Column 1 money? Did you get it?
OS: Well, we welcome the clarity in the rules, like Mattia said. We will follows the rules. It won’t have an impact on how we go about designing and developing our car in the future. We’ve got 500 people in Silverstone who are very capable at designing and producing and good racing car, as well as developing its performance. We’ve always had that, we’ve always had that infrastructure from the time it was Jordan. What we lacked in the past was really manufacturing capacity. What we had in race car development was always strong. I think the new rules, although they make things more clear, will have zero impact on how we develop our car.
Q: The second part of that was did you get your Column 1 money.
OS: As I said before, it’s nice to have settled it and we should just move on and go racing.
GS: I fully agree with Otmar.
Q: (Sandor Meszaros – Autosport es Formula Magazine) Question for Otmar. Would you be so kind as to explain when the idea has come up to sign Sebastian Vettel? And was it a personal idea from Mr Stroll or was it a collective decision from the management of the team?
OS: I think the first part of the question is the idea came up after Ferrari announced that Sebastian would be racing there next year and we saw that as an opportunity and Lawrence does have a big say in what the team does as he is the majority owner but it was a collective decision at the end, but he does have other people that he asks their opinions and it was a collective decision.
Q: (Julianne Cerasoli – UOL Esporte) We’re at the end of the third triple-header. After this experience happening again, especially if Liberty tries to set up the calendar with races being geographically closer?
GS: I think triple headers are very tough for everybody. I think we can do them this year because it is an exceptional year with the pandemic. We need to make the effort and the people are ready to make the effort because they are all happy to still be here. And we had a few months not doing so much in the beginning of the year, so it’s possible to do in an exceptional year like this but doing it going forward as a standard I don’t think it’s a good idea. It’s not only to the people and also for the spectator I think there is a saturation factor involved and if you race every weekend, just too close together, people lose interest. I don’t think that will help them going forward. Racing close in a region, staying in Europe, staying like this, is pretty nice but we are a global sport so we need to make sure we are represented globally. I think F1 did a good job to find ways out of not being able to travel as much as we do normally, or as far as much as we do normally, we still travel, and they came up with this compromise plan but I don’t think this is a plan that is here to stay. I think next year, always hoping that the pandemic will be over, going back to a more normal schedule, I think it’s better in general for F1 by not having triple headers, or a maximum of one, and then being more global again would be fantastic, so that we are represented in all the world and then not the majority just in Europe.
MB: Guenther already covered all the points. Nothing left for us. Nothing to add.
OS: I think multiple triple-headers are not sustainable. Yeah, we’re doing them this year but if I were to tell all the mechanics that this is how it’s going to be going forward I think they would choose to do something else.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) A question for Mattia and the others if they choose. Mattia could you explain to us exactly how the soft landing in the budget caps will work in terms of head count retrenchment. I believe there is a concession for the big three teams to reduce through until June next year, so they do have an advantage until June. Could you explain that please?
MB: I’m not sure I picked up the questions, but I will try to explain the mechanism of the soft landing. Obviously as Ferrari when we have been discussing the reduction on budget cap we have been very vocal on the fact that the new number, the new budget cap, would have meant a lot of reduction in terms of team organisations and members. We said we felt a social responsibility very strongly and we felt that it was somehow a wrong move towards the people, because it being such a period – pandemic, COVID – people losing their jobs was wrong. So what we simply asked was a soft landing – it has been ourselves to ask it and to obtain it – was a soft landing mechanism where we had time as a company to reallocate people in other jobs within our company. Simply that gave us six months’ time – I have to be honest, we asked for a bit more but that was the compromise – we’ve got six months’ time by the end of the year to reallocate people in different jobs.PART 2
Friday’s FIA’s 2nd Press Conference in progress. An FIA image TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – (In pic: from left) Franz TOST (AlphaTauri), Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing), Frédéric VASSEUR (Alfa Romeo)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Franz, we’re at Ferrari’s 1000th race this weekend, can we start with you giving us some of your best memories of watching Ferrari as a Formula 1 fan?
Franz TOST: When Niki Lauda won in Jarama, I remember quite well. There were also many other special events. I remember when Jacky Ickx was second behind Jochen Rindt at the Hockenheimring, I prayed to God that he stayed behind. Of course, Ferrari is the most well known brand in Formula 1. It is in Formula 1 since the very beginning and had very successful periods when they won races and won championships. The last very successful period was with Michael Schumacher and this was a fantastic time. Also I was a little bit involved there as I was working with Weber management. I can only congratulate Ferrari for this 1000th grand prix and wish them another 1000 races.
Q: Christian, same question to you. Your memories of watching Ferrari as a Formula 1 fan?
Christian HORNER: I’m not quite as old as Franz, so I don’t go back to the ‘60s and ‘70s but look, Ferrari are an iconic team. Those red cars, whenever you saw them… I remember the V12s when Nigel Mansell and Gerhard Berger were at Silverstone. The noise of the engines was just amazing. There has always been this mystique about Ferrari and everything they’ve achieved over the years. And then obviously competing against them. Obviously in our early days there were doing the dominating with Michael and the incredible job they did during that period and then the time with Alonso. They’re tough competitors and a great, great race team, with so much history. Ferrari are synonymous with Formula 1.
Q: And Fred, your thoughts please?
Frédéric VASSEUR: Well, I’m the youngest one…
CH: Are you?
FV: No, no. But it’s last year with Charles in Spa for me. It was a great one, even if the weekend is tough. But for sure that if you look at every single decade they were always there, performing, winning races and it’s like an honour for us to race with them today. We can be all proud of this and the story of the build-up over the last 50 years in F1, it’s magic.
Q: Franz, what a race for your team last weekend in Monza. Now that you have had a few days to reflect on it, how proud are you of what Pierre and the team did at Monza?
Franz TOST: I must say that Pierre and the team did really a fantastic job because Pierre controlled the race, it was not just a lucky punch and a few laps. OK, we had some luck because of the red flag and the Hamilton penalty, which helped us a lot obviously, but after the second start, once he overtook Stroll, he was controlling the race and how he controlled it, how maturely he drove, this was really something exciting to observe on the pit wall. When Carlos came a little bit closer he immediately reacted. We were very fast in sector two. We had a little bit more downforce than the McLaren and therefore he deserved this victory and it was really a fantastic drive from his side.
Q: How have you celebrated this week?
FT: We didn’t have time for a celebration. As you know it’s a back-to-back race. The race team in Monza had to dismantle everything, disassemble the cars, bring everything here to Mugello. And on Wednesday in the factory, Daniil and Pierre visited us and then we went from department to department, because we have quite strong rules regarding COVID-19, and each employee got a glass of Champagne and they made photos together with the drivers, always five people only. It took a while but the employees were very happy about this and this was everything on our celebration.
Q: And on an emotional level, how did that win compare with Sebastian Vettel’s victory back in 2008?
FT: A victory always is something very emotional. We all were very happy, but you know, a few hours and the job goes on. The next target is in front of us and this is Mugello, to have a good race here, and that’s important. Monza is past tense.
Q: Christian, what was the root of your problems in Monza and were you surprised by them?
CH: Well, the car was never particularly happy in a very low downforce configuration, so qualifying fifth we felt with Max we still had a chance in the race, Alex in P9. It wasn’t the best first lap. We lost quite a lot of performance at the start because the car overheated and it did likewise at the second start and then unfortunately we had the retirement. So on a day when Mercedes didn’t, for once, dominate proceedings, we were unable to capitalise on that, which was frustrating. But in the event that we were unable to, it was great to see AlphaTauri, Franz and Pierre get that victory. Monza for us felt like an opportunity lost.
Q: Are all your bogey tracks behind you now?
CH: I don’t know! I hope so! Mercedes are so strong at all the circuits. But I think this track plays a bit more to our strengths than Monza. There are still some good circuits coming up. It’s great to be here. I raced here in 1997. It’s just a phenomenal track. Other tracks we’re going to – Imola, Portimao, we’re going back to Istanbul this year, this improvised calendar has got some great race tracks on it this year.
Q: Well, it’s been a great start to the weekend with Max P2 in the first practice session. How confident are you of challenging Mercedes?
CH: They’re so complete at the moment. They have been truly dominant. So we are working hard, we’re continuing to develop the car as hard as we can in order to understand some of the issues that we have had with the car and I think we’re starting to get on top of that now. Hopefully we can get a little bit closer this weekend but it’s going to be a tough grand prix here.
Q: Is this the most dominant that Mercedes have been in the turbo-hybrid era?
CH: I think it’s right up there. Their first year they were incredibly dominant but they didn’t quite show their full hand because they had such a power advantage. Collectively, power unit and chassis, they are very, very strong at the moment. But we have shown they can be beaten, at Silverstone, and so that’s what we have to focus on, extracting and working to our strengths and getting more out of our car to take that fight to them on a more consistent basis.
Q: Fred, can we start by talking about the effect of Sebastian Vettel’s switch to Aston Martin next year. It means of course that Checo Pérez is on the market. How interested are you in him?
FV: I think that Checo is interested in all the seats on the grid, available at least. I won’t move, I told you last week or the week before, in the course of September we will have the discussion with our drivers about next year and then we will decide together what we have to do. For sure now we have plenty of drivers available on the list.
Q: How long is the list of drivers that you’ve got talking to you?
FV: You made the list before me…
Q: But with the Ferrari juniors as well, Fred?
FV: Yeah, but you have some Ferrari drivers junior drivers, but you have Kimi first for us, to know what he wants to do and what we want to do with him and then we will see with the other ones.
Q: Now, Fred, if Kimi Räikkönen wants to stay in Formula 1 next year, will you have him?
FV: Yeah, sure, but if we are all interested to collaborate and the collaboration is good, it will make sense to continue.
Q: And if you have an experienced guy like Kimi in one car, would you go for someone with less experience? Would you go for a Ferrari junior?
FV: I won’t find someone more experienced than Kimi. It’s the advantage, that for sure the team-mate will be less experienced than Kimi.Q: Final question, let’s talk about this weekend: what are your hopes?
FV: That we are targeting to put the two cars in Q2, that we made some steps forwards over the last weekend but we have to continue in that direction but we know that it’s not easy, it’s quite tight, it’s even more tight here in Mugello than somewhere else and Q1 will be difficult with the traffic but I think that we can target to have the two cars in Q2.
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport.com) Christian, at the Friday press conference at Silverstone, Toto Wolff said ‘one of our main competitors was scanning our cars with a 3D camera last year, in the garage and outside the garage.’ The (phrase) main competitor meant Ferrari or Red Bull and Mattia just told us it was not Ferrari. Do you feel addressed by Toto’s words?
CH: Well, looking at the similarity between the Racing Point and Toto’s car this year I can only assume it must have been Racing Point. I don’t know what Toto’s referring to there but yeah, no idea I’m afraid, certainly not us.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Fred, with the project that the team’s been involved with Alfa Romeo there have been high points but this year the results aren’t quite what you want them to be. What do you see as the next logical step for this collaboration and would you consider moving beyond the Ferrari family to make use of the new era coming in 2022?
FV: No, no. We are discussing with Ferrari to extend the collaboration and then we are quite close to sign the deal and with Alfa Romeo the same.
Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Christian, since Pierre Gasly’s victory at Monza last weekend obviously a lot of talk about him potentially returning to the Red Bull in the future. Pierre himself has said he would be ready but he understands the position is fully out of his hands. Would you consider bringing Gasly back to Red Bull for next year and when do you expect a decision to be made on Red Bull’s 2021 line-up?
CH: Well, look, I think Pierre has done a fantastic job. I think taking a step back into what was Toro Rosso, now AlphaTauri he’s found his confidence, he’s driving incredibly well and AlphaTauri are doing a great job with him, I think it’s good to see, it’s really good to see that that’s working out for him and I think that as far as Red Bull Racing’s seats are concerned we are focused on Alex Albon, we want to try and give him the best opportunity to retain that seat. We’ve got some issues that we are working on with the car and I think that it wouldn’t make sense to switch the drivers back. AlphaTauri is now a sister team rather than a Junior team. I think that Franz is happy, I believe, with Pierre, so there’s no… the final decision will be made later in the year but there’s no push from our side to reverse the situation. We want to address some of the issue that we have with RB16 which I think we’re starting to understand and get on top of and then go from there.
Q: Christian, would you ever look outside of the Red Bull family when it comes to drivers? Checo Perez, for example?
CH: I think our preference has always been to nurture talent and whether that’s Sebastian Vettel, whether that’s Daniel Ricciardo, whether that’s Max Verstappen, they’ve all come through the junior programme. They’ve been schooled by Franz and then they’ve obviously delivered very well in Red Bull Racing seats, so our preference is always in that home ground talent but if the pool isn’t big enough, then of course occasionally you have to look outside of it but our intention is absolutely to work with the talent pool that we have.
Q: (Adam Cooper – motorsport.com) To all three: have you looked into the downforce cuts for 2021 and how big a change will it be, especially given the desire to cut costs?
FV: It’s a bit early stage for us because got the final regulation last week or the week before but for sure it will have a big impact on the downforce. I don’t want to speak about points but it will be huge and it’s also probably necessary for the tyres that if we are still developing the car and we want to keep the same tyres we put the responsibility of this on Pirelli; at the end we will do a choice and I think it was the right move from the FIA.
CH: I think it’s a bit of a tickie one. I think the teams will get back all the downforce that it perhaps takes off. Maybe more could have been done because the rate of progress in Formula 1 is such that if there is concerns about the load of the tyre then yeah, maybe more should have been looked at but of course whenever you change something, it does introduce cost because whatever you change creates differences so it’s finding that balance.
FT: We are just studying this new regulation and of course we will lose a lot of downforce but as I know, the development speed in Formula One I would not be surprised if at the beginning of next year or maybe a little bit later, the downforce level will be the same. Regarding the costs, nothing will change. There were a lot, the current diffuser and floor, or another one, at the end it’s just the same.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Primarily for Christian; the financial regulations provide a mechanism for a soft landing for those larger teams who need retrench staff and this goes through to June next year. Would you need to avail yourself of this particular one? And then to the other team principals present: do you see this mechanism as providing any form of advantage for the top three or four teams?
CH: I think the mechanism you’re talking about was primarily to accommodate Ferrari, in particular, with their employment laws but I think what we’re seeing as we inevitably delve deeper in these regulations and of course they have a much bigger effect on the top three teams than they will for the teams that are already operating below the cap but you know what’s been exciting for us is to look at projects that will soon be announced that we’ve won with external clients where we will be taking on different work and different work streams in different categories. We have obviously designed the Valkyrie car over the last four years and we’re looking at other options where we can utilise the skill set and talent that we’ve acquired in Formula 1 in other projects. Obviously those regulations do have a fundamental impact on the teams and of course that cushion, as it were, for 2021 does offer a soft landing, particularly for Ferrari who pushed so hard for it.
Q: Franz, do you feel that soft landing is an advantage to the top teams?
FT: Of course it’s a small advantage for the top teams because they can keep people longer, but we must not forget but the three top teams built up a fantastic infrastructure in the last years and now because of the cost cap they have to change many processes in there and therefore I think it’s a very fair compromise and I am a fan of this.
FV: Yeah, the cost cut and the financial regulation will have a huge impact on the top teams and I think we don’t have to be focused on the first six months and what will happen in the first six months because the regulation will be in place for at least the next five years. It will be a mistake to just focus on what could happen in January or February. I think it’s a huge impact for them. They’ve made a big effort, also on this point and I think it’s a normal situation.
Q: (Erik van Haren – De Telegraaf) Christian, in Monza, Max Verstappen said both the car and the engine this year are not good enough. Do you agree with him?
CH: Well, I think, certainly in Monza, we were nowhere near the competitiveness that we wanted to be in and of course we’ve had some issues with this car this year. We had high expectations coming into the year and despite being second in the World Championship and having won one race so far plus the other five podiums we’ve achieved it’s never enough. The whole of the team is working very hard to get on top of these issues because of course this is the fundamental elements of the car that are in place for next year as well. I think we’re starting to understand some of the issues that we’ve had and the whole team, as I say, is working very, very hard to ensure that we are on top of them for the second half of the season.
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Christian, I just wanted to pick you up on your remark about the change of status of AlphaTauri from Junior team to sister team. Can you explain the thinking behind that and how much is it to do with the fact that as you described it, the talent pool is limited or whatever the phrase was that you used?
CH: Obviously AlphaTauri is a rebranded team for this year. I think that their aspirations are beyond where Toro Rosso’s were and I think we obviously have a synergy project within the regulations that we’re allowed so for example, the sharing of the wind tunnel will happen for the first time next year, which makes complete sense from a financial perspective. That’s what I was referring to and I think that, from a talent pool, Red Bull has invested in so many young drivers over the years and we’ve got some good young talent coming through. You can see in Formula 2, Formula 3 the talent that we have and will continue.
Q: Franz, can I just pick this up with you? Do you see AlphaTauri as more of a sister team now than it was a junior team?
FT: I think that the team has grown up in the last years, that we show better performance, the cars are more reliable, the co-operation with Red Bull Technology is very positive and all the synergy process brings us a lot of advantages, everything within the regulations. And we have AlphaTauri now, we are the brand ambassador for AlphaTauri and therefore we have to show a good performance, we have to be there because otherwise it doesn’t make sense for AlphaTauri to be in Formula 1. This is what Christian meant, that we have to improve the performance, we have become better and the victory in Monza showed that we are able to do it.
Q: (Julien Billiotte – AutoHebdo) Fred, don’t take it the wrong way but you are an experienced figure in the French racing scene. I believe you founded your first team in 1996; what did Pierre Gasly’s win in Monza meant to you and motor sport in France?
FV: I think it’s important for everybody in France in motorsport. It’s a great achievement for Pierre and AlphaTauri also. They did very well, Pierre did a fantastic event, but he is improving and it was… I don’t want to say that it was abuse because that he was quali in P9 or something like this but at the end of the day, over the last couple of events he has was improving and he was not miles away from a good event. And then, for sure, if you’re in this situation and you want to win, you need to have a chaotic race but as Franz said before, when he was in front he was able to manage the situation, to have a very clean race and he did a very good job. It’s also good motivation for all the young teams in France, doing go-karts and junior series, that’s the way is there and let’s continue like this.
Q: (Julianne Cerasoli – UOL Esporte) To all three: are you planning to keep any changes you’ve made due to COVID, both regarding sanitary measures and things which had to be changed due to the pandemic and which are actually working better?
FV: Tough one. No, I don’t know that it’s… for sure I think the world will change also and we will to… COVID is not behind us and we will see what happens in the next few months. I think the world will change, due to the situation and a way of life will evolve also, and I don’t know if we will change something in the future or not. It’s some constraint but it was the price to pay for everybody if we wanted to continue to race. It was a great achievement for everybody. If you have a look at other sports – if you have a look at football for example, it’s quite a disaster with tons of players positive and so far we did very well. Altogether it’s an achievement but I think that at some stage we will have to be focused on the future.
CH: I think that what we’ve seen during this period is technology moved and so conferencing and teams meeting and Zoom and all these different technologies and so I think there are elements of that where efficiency can be improved. Obviously Formula 1 is a remote working environment when you’re back at the factory and I think there have been some interesting developments with technology there with speed and processing and so on, and so I think they will be the elements. I think obviously press conferences in future should all be done by video conference and so on, but I’m looking forward to getting rid of the mask. Hopefully we can get rid of the mask relatively soon.
FT: AlphaTauri have quite strict guidelines regarding COVID-19. We always do permanent tests; every employee in the morning has to do a temperature test. As I mentioned before, when the drivers were there, we didn’t allow all the people coming together. We split into smaller groups. We need to pay attention to this because the virus is still here and I just hope that now, during the winter months, it will not become worse. I also hope that from the medicine side they will find a solution, vaccine or whatever and that next year we will have a season without this stupid mask here and that we can come back to our normal life.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) To all three, picking up on sister teams and the opportunities going forward. I just want to know from Christian and Franz’s perspective, how have you seen that sort of relationship evolve and what do you see as the advantages going into the new era of having the sister teams rather than senior and junior team and for Fred, do you see yourself becoming more of a sister team to Ferrari, for example, or is it more of a straightforward customer relationship even in the new era?
FV: The relationship with Ferrari is like it is and they are supplying parts, engine, gearbox and some other parts and the collaboration on this one is a good one but we are not sharing the same wind tunnel, for example, as some other teams are doing and for sure I think it will probably be an advantage in the future and to have a larger collaboration.
CH: Well, obviously the regulations have been clarified very recently as to what is permitted and what isn’t and it doesn’t fundamentally change anything that we’ve been doing with AlphaTauri apart from the fact that we start co-sharing the wind tunnel which makes a great deal of sense. So the tools that we’re using, within the models, the model size, AlphaTauri will be utilising the same equipment, the same tunnel and of course , hopefully that will be helpful for them in their development, particularly with the 2022 car being such a significant regulation change. So I think the regulations are now clear, the grey zones have been taken out in terms of what is and isn’t allowed and hopefully AlphaTauri will certainly benefit from that.
FT: Not much to add. I just want to explain, regarding the wind tunnel, because we are the only team using the 50 per cent wind tunnel and then of course Bedford is 60 per cent there which will obviously bring us an advantage because you can make much more valid measurements and the rest is not a synergy process, we did it already in the last years quite successfully, it was saving money and improving the performance, because Red Bull Technology at a very high level from a technical standard and therefore I don’t see anything special -
Valtteri Bottas continues to set the pace at Mugello
Mugello, 11 Sept 2020: After topping the order in the opening practice session for this weekend’s first F1 Tuscan Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas continued to set the pace at Mugello in the afternoon, beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton by over two-tenths of a second in a session that was twice interrupted by red flags.
Bottas led the way in the opening phase of the session, run largely on medium tyres and the Finn took P1 on the yellow banded tyres with a time of 1:18.019. The field then began to move to soft tyres for qualifying simulations when Lando Norris sent the field back to the pit lane when he went off at Turn 3, Poggio Secco.
The McLaren driver had started his quali sim when he went wide on the corner exit and slid through the gravel trap. He hit the barriers nose first, detaching the front wing, before coming to rest. Unable to get going again, his stoppage brought out the red flags.
The session resumed after almost 10-minutes and the Mercedes cars emerged on soft tyres for their qualifying runs. Bottas went quickest of all through the first two sectors as he held the top spot with a lap of 1:16.989. Hamilton was quickest in the final sector but the deficit across the first two sectors left him 0.207 behind his team-mate.
Max Verstappen took third place in the session and kept Mercedes honest by finishing just under four hundredths of a second behind Hamilton. The Dutchman’s team-mate Alex Albon was fourth, but the Thai driver was more than seven tenths of a second adrift of Verstappen.
Albon was, however, the last drive to get within a second of Bottas.
Renault took fifth and sixth in the session, with Daniel Ricciardo edging team-mate Esteban Ocon by a fraction under eight hundredths of a second. Ocon finished ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and the Alfa Rome of Kimi Räikkönen.
After Charles Leclerc opened the weekend of Ferrari’s 1000th race with a useful looking third place in the opening session, the afternoon was more muted for the Scuderia with Leclerc finishing in 10th position and Sebastian Vettel ending the session in P12.
The long runs in the second half of the session were interrupted by a second flag when Sergio Pérez and Kimi Räikkönen collided.
Räikkönen was starting lap when Pérez emerged from the pit lane. The Mexican seemed not to see the Finn and as they went into Turn 1 he clipped the rear of Räikkönen’s car as the Alfa Romeo driver turned in. Räikkönen was left beached in the gravel trap and the red flags were once again displayed.
Elsewhere, there was trouble for Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman completed just five laps in the session due to an electrical problem on his Haas car.
2020 FIA Formula 1 Tuscan Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:16.989 28 245.255
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:17.196 0.207 29 244.598
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:17.235 0.246 25 244.474
4 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 1:17.971 0.982 28 242.166
5 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:18.039 1.050 32 241.955
6 Esteban Ocon Renault 1:18.115 1.126 29 241.720
7 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 1:18.198 1.209 34 241.463
8 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:18.244 1.255 30 241.322
9 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:18.385 1.396 38 240.887
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.400 1.411 27 240.841
11 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1:18.462 1.473 37 240.651
12 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:18.498 1.509 39 240.541
13 Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 1:18.651 1.662 32 240.073
14 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1:18.658 1.669 9 240.051
15 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 1:18.736 1.747 33 239.814
16 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:18.843 1.854 33 239.488
17 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:18.944 1.955 35 239.182
18 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:18.983 1.994 31 239.064
19 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:19.113 2.124 32 238.671
20 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1:19.257 2.268 5 238.237
